By John Kevlin, Reuben & Junius, LLP
SF-ers now have a new piece of data to use in their never-ending debate over “best US city” rights with New York. According to the 2010 census, the San Francisco/Oakland region is the second most densely populated city in the United States, after West Coast-neighbor L.A. New York City ranked just fifth in the nation.
In 2010, San Francisco/Oakland averaged 6,266 people per square mile. San Jose was just behind in third with 5,820 people per square mile. Beyond bragging rights, these figures highlight the opportunity we have in Bay Area to provide an example of what the future of smart-growth development should look like. Between a world-class transit system and plenty of growth opportunity, the Bay Area has the ability to provide for more residents without expanding the physical borders of our urbanized area. Just hop off BART at Balboa Park (where the new 5-story, 173-unit, lot line Avalon Bay development is just wrapping up), at MacArthur Station in Oakland (where Phase I of the new 624-unit Transit Village is just underway), or at Civic Center (where Twitter’s new lobby is already open) and its clear there is enormous opportunity to grow from within.
In fact, the 2010 census also concluded that urbanized areas in the U.S. grew at a faster rate than the country as a whole in the past 10 years, 12.1 percent to 9.7 percent, respectively. This is the future of U.S. development. According to the 2010 census, the top five most densely populated cities in the U.S. are:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: 7,000 people per square mile (ppsm)
- San Francisco-Oakland: 6,266 ppsm
- San Jose: 5,820 ppsm
- Delano, Calif.: 5,483 ppsm
- New York-Newark: 5,319 ppsm
The issues discussed in this update are not intended to be legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is established with the recipient. Readers should consult with legal counsel before relying on any of the information contained herein. Reuben & Junius, LLP is a full service real estate law firm. We specialize in land use, development and entitlement law. We also provide a wide range of transactional services, including leasing, acquisitions and sales, formation of limited liability companies and other entities, lending/workout assistance, subdivision and condominium work.
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