Missed by me last week was Sam Roberts NY Times column discussing new census data showing that NYC’s population grew by nearly 70,000 people since April 15, 2010 (Census Day). The city accounted for 80 per cent of the state’s population growth.
Roberts notes
“The Bronx recorded the biggest loss through migration (more people leaving than moving in) over all. Manhattan was the only borough that showed a gain from combined domestic and international migration. The overall population increase was due largely to higher birthrates.”
The article demonstrates that legislative redistricting is an inexact science based on outdated data. Population fluctuations are affected by births, deaths, in-migration/out-migration, and housing boom and bust cycles.
Don’t let pundits and other absolutists cloud your mind. Life is not static. It has ebbs and flows. We can only capture snapshots.
For this reason, a Chinese proverb correctly observes that you can never step into the same river twice. Once we recognize that maybe our public debates will be less polarized.
Read the entire Sam Roberts article here – Census Estimates for 2011 Show Population Growth in New York – NYTimes.com.
