Commentary

Europe Continues to Suburbanize

A new article on the New Geography web site by Wendell Cox examines populaton migration trends in Europe through 2007 and finds that Europeans are suburbanizing quickly. While some central cities have experienced growth, like in the US most of this growth has been from migrants and young professionals. Most native born households are moving to lower density suburbs. Notes Cox:

At the same time, widely ignored by many American observers, Western Europe has been suburbanizing strongly. Since 1965, virtually all major metropolitan area growth has been in the suburbs. Indeed the share of the metropolitan area population gains in the suburbs has been greater in Western Europe than in the United States.

Cox examines trends for several major metropolitan areas, including London, Vienna, Helsinki, and Stockholm.