Outsmarting Smart Growth
Population Growth, Immigration,
and the Problem of Sprawl

August 2003

By Roy Beck, Leon Kolankiewicz, and Steven A. Camarota

Download the .pdf version

Panel Discussion Transcript

Selected News Coverage

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Introduction
Conservation Focus Draws Attention to Population Growth
Other Studies Address Different Sprawl Goals
Looking at Sprawl with a Concern for Protecting Rural Land

Background
Sprawl: Growing into a National Issue
“Sprawl” Defined and Measured
Why Americans Don’t Like Sprawl
Pro-Sprawl vs. Anti-Sprawl: Other Evaluations
The Multiple Factors in Sprawl
The Smart Growth Solution

Findings
Data Sources
Per Capita Sprawl Rate Far Less Than Overall Sprawl Rate
Per Capita Land Consumption Growth Compared with Population Growth
Population Growth & Sprawl — Analysis of City Data

Policy Implications
Necessity of Tackling Both Major Sprawl Factors
Federal Immigration Policies: No. 1 Force in U.S. Sprawl
Overall Impact of Immigration on Sprawl

Conclusion

Appendix A: Glossary

Appendix B: Raw Data for 49 States (1982-1997)

Appendix C: Percent Change in Land Developed and Sprawl Factors for 49 States (1982-1997)

Appendix D: Calculating Per Capita Land Consumption

Appendix E: The Holdren Apportioning Method

Appendix F: About the Census Bureau’s Urbanized Areas

About the Authors
Roy Beck is director of the NumbersUSA Education and Research Foundation, an Internet organization that tracks the role of each member of Congress in forcing or reducing U.S. population growth. He also runs SprawlCity.org, a website about consumption growth and population growth and their roles in urban sprawl. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, he won national awards during the 1970s for his coverage of urban expansion issues, including honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Izaak Walton League. A former Washington correspondent for a daily newspaper chain, he is the author of four public policy books. His articles have appeared in scores of publications, including the Atlantic Monthly. Mr. Beck has lectured widely on the ethical aspects of U.S. population issues.

Leon Kolankiewicz is an environmental scientist and national natural resources planner. He has a B.S. in forestry and wildlife management from Virginia Tech and an M.S. in environmental planning and natural resources management from the University of British Columbia.  His professional experience includes stints with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, University of Washington, University of New Mexico, and as an environmental planner with the Orange County, (Ca.) Environmental Management Agency.  Mr. Kolankiewicz is the author of Where Salmon Come to Die:  An Autumn on Alaska’s Raincoast.

Steven A. Camarota is Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. He holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in public policy analysis from the University of Virginia. Dr. Camarota often testifies before Congress and has published widely on the political and economic effects of immigration on the United States. His articles on the impact of immigration have appeared in both academic publications and the popular press including Social Science Quarterly, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Campaigns and Elections, and The Public Interest. Dr. Camarota’s most recent studies published by the Center for Immigration Studies are Back Where We Started: An Examination of Trends in Immigrant Welfare Use Since Welfare Reform, and The Open Door: How Militant Islamic Terrorists Entered and Remained in the United States, 1993-2001.

Anne Manetas was the Project Coordinator of this study. She is the Director of Environmental Projects for NumbersUSA Education & Research Foundation.

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