Outlying towns outgrow big cities

Study: Increase least in LR, NLR

The outlying areas of the six-county Little Rock metropolitan statistical area continue to outgrow its biggest cities, according to a new study by Metroplan, an agency that assists the area in planning. But the fact that Little Rock and North Little Rock are growing is “a sign of relative health for Pulaski County,” said Michael Pakko, chief economist for the UALR Institute for Economic Advancement.

Pakko, who did not participate in the Metroplan study, said that some metropolitan areas around the nation are undergoing “a hollowing out” at their core.

Detroit, which filed for bankruptcy protection last week, is the prime example of that, Pakko said.

Yet another Arkansas-based economist, Greg Kaza, director of the Arkansas Policy Foundation, said that the area’s growth,1.1 percent between 2010 and 2012, needs to be more robust.

That’s twice the rate of 0.5 percent for the state and more than the nation’s, which was 0.7 percent. “We’re growing, but not fast enough,” said Kaza, who likewise did not contribute to the study. Rather than comparing itself with the nation, the metropolitan statistical area needs to compete better against other cities in the Sun Belt, which is the dominant region in the country, with 7 of the top 10 biggest cities in 2010, Kaza said.

The outlying areas are benefiting primarily from population growth from those moving into them.

The city of Conway and Faulkner County’s population between 2010 and 2013 grew 6.4 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively, compared with Little Rock, 2 percent, North Little Rock, 2.7 percent, and Pulaski County, 2 percent, according to Metroplan.

Bryant, with an estimated 2013 population of 18,757, led all cities in the area with a 12.4 percent growth in that period. “Bryant has an excellent school system … and an excellent reputation as a family town,” said Dave Green, the city’s director of planning and community development.

The estimated 2013 population of the Little Rock metropolitan statistical area, which includes Pulaski, Saline, Faulkner, Perry, Lonoke and Grant counties, was 721,565, compared with 699,757 in 2010, according to the study.

The study notes that post-secondary education is a positive trend for the area. Of women 25 and older, 7.2 percent were enrolled in higher education in 2011, compared with 5.2 percent of men of that age group, and compared with 5.2 percent of women across the nation and 3.6 percent of men of that age.

Enrollment in all education categories in the nation and Arkansas were higher than they were in 2007, when the nation entered a deep recession that lasted till June 2009. Many people turned to education for lack of employment opportunities during the downturn.

Looking at jobs skills, the Metroplan study said that “the things people do better than machines … [including] intuition, imagination and development of insights and hypotheses” are needed more than in the past.

“The 25-34-year-old cohort is a vital one to watch for emerging trends,” the study said. “These young adults are opting for concentration, rather than dispersion, in choosing their places of residences. Today there is a greater share of [the] young adult population in downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock and central Conway.

“This change may partly reflect today’s leaner economic circumstances, but also runs parallel with a national trend in which today’s young adults are putting more value on convenience, centrality and quality of place.”

Business, Pages 19 on 07/23/2013

Upcoming Events