recent years.
Development in the Sunbelt has also been driven by public policies that infused massive amounts of federal funds into the region for defense and highways, and policies that encouraged single-family home ownership through favorable tax and mortgage terms. Added to the regionÆs pleasant climate, outdoor recreational activities and the wide availability of air conditioning, these factors enabled the Sunbelt to enjoy growth that outstripped the rest of the country. Between 1950 and 1990, San Antonio experienced a 129 percent increase in population, Austin a 253 percent increase, Albuquerque 297 percent, Phoenix 819 percent and Tucson a full 800 percent. Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cleveland and San Francisco all had net population losses during the same period.
Unlike cities in the north, Sunbelt cities tend to comprise large geographical areas and expand more rapidly. Between 1950 and 1990, Phoenix grew from 17 square miles to 420, Tucson grew from 10 to 156 square miles and Orlando grew from 14 to 67 square miles. During the same period of time, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Baltimore added only two square miles to their jurisdictions, while St. Louis added one square mile.
One of the primary reasons that Sunbelt cities were able to enjoy the growth in population that the did over the last 40 years is because of the large amounts of defense spending. Aerospace is centered in the Sunbelt, with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory located in Pasadena, California, McDonnell Douglas located in Long Beach, California, the Johnson Space Center located in Houston, and the Cape Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The wide open spaces of the Sunbelt made it possible for defense contractors to set about their tasks in private and enhanced the security under which they could operate. The cheap availability of land also meant that large pieces of land could be purchased for the development of large products, such as airp...