Population dynamics, housing economics, and the future of the American habitat

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a report on population dynamics, housing economics, and the future of the American habitat. The habitat of future Americans is likely to be shaped at least as much by the interaction of demography and economics as by traditional preferences or by the new inspirations of designers and architects. A growing proportion of American households are finding the costs difficult to meet. These trends of changing housing needs and increased housing costs are mutually reinforcing. Their combined effects run counter to traditional American preferences for commodious, well-separated dwellings. The American housing consumer has long been quite lavish in his use of space, both between and within his dwellings, compared to most of his counterparts in Europe and many other nations. America's spread-out mode of residence has had its disadvantages. It has brought a sprawling, unfocused pattern of metropolitan development that has confounded planners and public officials charged with the efficient and cost-effective provision of essential public services.