—Because the population is projected to grow faster than the rest of the state’s.
The 8-county region will more than double in population from about 4 million to 8.2 million by 2060, new projections say.
“The Valley’s going to have increasing political clout and increasing economic importance,” Jeff Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center at the University of Pacific, told the Fresno Bee.
Michael added, “It underscores the importance of trying to achieve a long-running strategy for the region.”
Copy that. When the economy recovers, the ususal suspects will pressure City Hall to okay sprawl. That is unsustainable over the sort of horizon we are discussing. Instead of growing out, we need to grow up — literally and figuratively. Lovin’ the implied increase in political muscle, though.
