Booming exurbs of Des Moines

 

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Des Moines Register, 2/24/2022

Those eight cities — Adel, Bondurant, Cumming, Elkhart, Granger, Norwalk, Polk City and Van Meter— represent the leading edge of the metro's growth. 

City leaders say residents are attracted by their small-town atmosphere and slower pace within a relatively short drive from more urbanized areas. 

But as the growth continues, how long will they be able to keep a less-hurried atmosphere while meeting the demand for infrastructure and services that expansion brings?

Across the country, the exurbs began gaining popularity with the early 1980s spread of home computers like the Apple II that could transmit text files via telephone modems. Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, some professional workers seeking a less hectic lifestyle gravitated toward the edge cities, where they could spend at least a few days a week working from home. 

Around 2005, as internet service became faster and more dependable, the exurbs began growing as fast as, if not faster than, traditional suburbs. 

At the same time, the core grew outward to meet the edge — in turn, pushing metros even farther out. Liesl Eathington, assistant scientist in the Department of Economics at Iowa State University, said that in the Des Moines metro, it's "really a natural progression" of sorts for the edges to expand as the region sees its fastest growth since a boom that began in the 1990s.

Population growth since 2000