Growing Warm

You know, I would've never thought that warm weather could cause so much population growth for a city. That's what Ed Glaeser says attributed to Phoenix's rise and Pittsburgh's fall in this Economix article. Particularly interesting in the article is his explanation of why populations shifted to warmer climates due to the creation of railroads, the highways system, and the Panama Canal. But why Arizona and not California? Because it was less regulated, allowing housing markets to grow. Oh, and the graph below is neat too.


http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/revenge-of-the-rust-belt/