Cities in the Sunbelt have become the destination for thousands of migrants moving from the north in recent decades. Sunbelt cities, such as Tucson and Phoenix, have not developed in the same method that older northern cities have, with the result that urban planners have had to change their thoughts and approaches to these new developments. This research examines the migration to the Sunbelt, including population trends, taxation, and the economy as a whole, both in the Sunbelt and in the areas contributing population to the Sunbelt.
There is no single definition of the Sunbelt, but there is basic agreement that the region includes Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Florida and Southern California. Some writers exclude the deep south states of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana; others include the northern cities of Denver, Portland and Seattle, which they find have Sunbelt characteristics if not location. For the purposes of this report, the Sunbelt will be considered to be the region south of a line drawn from North Carolina to California. A region as large as this cannot be considered to be completely homogeneous; there are cities in the Sunbelt which have more in common with their northern counterparts, while some cities north of the Sunbelt will have much in common with Sunbelt cities.
The growth of the Sunbelt can be traced to the national post World War II movement toward the suburbs. One of the primary motivating factors behind this movement was the concept of the home as a sacred place and a refuge to be built in a park-like setting away from the harsh city. As early as the beginning of the 1900s, the spread of the single-family subdivision in Los Angeles reflected this movement, a movement that gained popularity after the war. The trend toward single-family homes continues today, especially in the Sunbelt. Despite rising housing prices, construction of townhouses and condominiums in Tucson has fallen dramatically in ...