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Content Copyright © 2007 by New England Coalition for Sustainable Population. All rights reserved.
Content Copyright © 2007 by New England Coalition for Sustainable Population. All rights reserved.
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| US Census Bureau Stats |
| New England Coalition for Sustainable Population |
At the end of the last century, New England developed in a
more expansive way than the rest of the nation. Between
1982 and 1997, New England consumed land at almost 6
times the rate of its population growth -- the U.S. consumed
land at 2.5 times the rate of population growth.
New England loses approximately 100,000 acres of open
space and farmland every year:
- New Hampshire loses 12,500 acres of open space and
farmland due to development every year. - Maine loses 38,000 acres due to development every
year. - Massachusetts loses 42,400 acres of open space and
farmland due to development every year. - Rhode Island loses 1,300 acres of open space and
farmland due to development every year. - Connecticut loses 7,900 acres due to development.
- Vermont loses 4800 acres of open space and
farmland due to development every year.
The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk-Danbury suburban area of
Connecticut has the seventh worst sprawl in the country.
In Maine, over the last decade, $200 million was spent in
unnecessary new schools just to accommodate
suburbanization, while school enrollment was actually
declining. As people move out into the countryside, need for
new duplicate schools is created (in addition to town
infrastructure, roads and municipal services).
As recently as 10 years ago, there were 8,723 vacant
residential lots and 2,065 vacant commercial/industrial lots in
Rhode Island.
Massachusetts is one of the fastest-sprawling areas in the
United States in terms of the relationship between land used
for housing and population growth. Between 1972 and 1996,
developed land increased approximately fifty-nine percent,
while the population only increased roughly six percent.
In Vermont the ratio of cropland & pasture acreage relative
to developed land acreage is about 2.5 to 1 – in 1982 it was
4.5 to 1. If current trends continue, it will be just 40 years
when the amount of developed land will begin to exceed the
amount of farm or open land in Vermont.
In New Hampshire, small subdivisions are the prevailing
pattern of new housing construction and many retail
operations, especially adjacent to roadways, are developed
as separate entities, and tend to expand over time. These
incremental development patterns in cities and towns across
New Hampshire have resulted in fragmentation and loss of
important forest lands, wildlife habitat, and other sensitive
environmental areas. In 1970, 139 towns were classified as
rural; by 2025, this number will have dropped by nearly half
to 72.
| Sprawl & Slow Growth Facts |
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pertaining to the topic, or suggest organizations
in the region we could coalition with.
in the region we could coalition with.