Land use and demographic change: results from fast-growth counties

The authors analyze and compare two data sets on land-use change in U.S. counties with rapidly growing populations for the period from 1960 to the early 1980s. The results show that "the net effect of changing household numbers, household characteristics, and economic constraints on demand for land is likely to mean less conversion of land for urban uses in the future. Our studies showed that marginal urban land consumption remained nearly constant between 1960 and the early 1980s."