The affordable housing shortage is reshaping parts of rural America – NBC News

Small Town America Faces Rapid Growth and Changing Landscape

Introduction

When Suzanne D’Amico moved from Dallas an hour north to Celina, Texas, there was one grocery store, longhorn cattle down the road and no lights on the horizon at night. Farmers wearing overalls gathered for morning coffee, teenagers packed the local pizzeria after Friday night football games, and neighbors prayed together at church on Sunday.

“It felt like we were on another planet,” said D’Amico, who has lived for nearly 30 years in Celina where she raised her children. “We weren’t just outside the city, we were completely gone from anything we considered at the time remotely civilized.”

Housing Boom and the Impact on Small Towns

But D’Amico’s slice of small town America is quickly vanishing. Like rural communities across the country, Celina is seeing a housing boom that made it America’s fastest growing city in 2023. Now, pastures have been replaced with densely packed homes, golf carts zip around planned communities where tractors once plowed and local businesses are being replaced with big box chains.

While the expansion of the suburbs is nothing new, a surge in home prices over the past several years has supercharged the trend, pushing homebuyers across the country further out from city centers to areas like Celina where land is cheaper and more plentiful and local barriers for developers tend to be lower.

Since the start of the pandemic, the population in rural areas has been growing for the first time in at least a decade, a U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis found. Among the 500 fastest growing cities in the country, the number of those more than 30 miles from a city center increased by 26% between 2019 to 2023, according to Census figures.

At the forefront of that trend is Celina. Its population increased by 27% in 2023 and over the past decade the town has gone from around 7,000 residents to more than 43,000 last year, according to Census data. With more than 200 people moving there each week, the city projects it will have more than 100,000 residents by 2029.

Affordability and the Appeal of Small Town Living

“For families that are moving now, affordability is a huge factor,” said Celina Mayor Ryan Tubbs, who said the town has been attracting people from higher-priced parts of Dallas as well as more expensive states like California. “The amount of house that you can get goes a lot farther.”

For those coming to Celina, which is about 40 miles north of Dallas, the development boom has provided a refuge from soaring housing prices, allowing newcomers to have the suburban lifestyle they are seeking at a lower cost than they could find elsewhere. But for some longtime residents, the migration has meant a loss to their sense of community, higher costs and a threat to their livelihoods.

Impact on Land and Agriculture

A shortage of undeveloped land in the Dallas area has pushed builders further north into Collin County, which includes Celina and other fast growing communities like Princeton, Prosper and Anna. There, homebuilders are selling 2,000-square-foot homes for $400,000 to $500,000 compared to $700,000 to $1 million for a similar home in suburbs closer into downtown Dallas, said Bryan Swindell, president of PulteGroup’s Dallas Division.

Most of the new developments being built are master-planned communities with more than 1,000 tightly packed homes, a scale that makes the construction process more economical for builders. Many of the communities have their own self-contained amenities, like pools, parks, biking trails, playgrounds, and in some cases, their own school.

The big box retailers and chain stores are following the migration. The town will get its first Walmart and Costco in the coming months and last year it got its second Starbucks.

That growth has also threatened those trying to make a living off the land, which has some of the country’s best soil for farming and cattle grazing. Collin County lost 115,000 acres of farmland between 2012 and 2022 and the number of farms with more than 500 acres has been nearly cut in half over that time, according to USDA data. Nationwide, the country lost 35 million acres of farmland over that period.

Challenges and Opportunities

Local officials are seeing no slowdown in growth, which has presented a range of logistical challenges. The city is proposing $757 million in projects over the next five years, including new parks, water infrastructure and an emergency dispatch center. The school district plans to add one to two new elementary schools each year for the foreseeable future.

Keeping Celina relatively affordable has also been a challenge for local officials with the typical home now selling for around $550,000. As land prices go up in Celina, developers like Plute’s Swindell are looking even further north to be able to build homes in the $300,000 price range.

Conclusion

For longtime residents like D’Amico, the growth has brought mixed blessings. While her husband’s construction business has thrived and the value of their land has soared, she mourns the loss of the fields and the quietness around her house. However, for newcomers like Jasmine Hughes, the growth has provided opportunities for a more affordable life and new business ventures.

As small towns across America face rapid growth and changing landscapes, it is important to consider the impact on communities, the environment, and the economy. Balancing the need for affordable housing and economic development with the preservation of land, agriculture, and community values is crucial in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

The issue of rapid urbanization and the transformation of rural areas into suburban communities is connected to SDG 11, which focuses on creating sustainable cities and communities.

SDG 1: No Poverty

The article mentions the impact of rising home prices on long-time residents, which can lead to increased poverty and inequality. This connects to SDG 1, which aims to eradicate poverty.

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

The loss of farmland due to urbanization and development threatens agricultural production and food security. This aligns with SDG 2, which aims to achieve zero hunger.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

The article discusses the need for infrastructure development to support the growing population in suburban areas. This relates to SDG 9, which focuses on building sustainable infrastructure.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Target 11.3: Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries

The article highlights the rapid urbanization and expansion of suburban areas, which can be connected to Target 11.3.

Target 1.4: By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular, the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership, and control over land and other forms of property

The rising home prices and loss of affordable housing mentioned in the article relate to Target 1.4, which aims to ensure equal access to economic resources and property.

Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production

The loss of farmland and its impact on agricultural production connects to Target 2.4, which focuses on sustainable food production systems.

Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being

The need for infrastructure development to support the growing population in suburban areas aligns with Target 9.1.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article does not explicitly mention any indicators related to the identified targets. However, based on the content, the following indicators can be used to measure progress:

Indicator 11.3.1: Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate

This indicator can measure the sustainability of urbanization and the balance between land consumption and population growth.

Indicator 1.4.2: Proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, with legally recognized documentation and who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and type of tenure

This indicator can measure the access to land and property rights for the population, particularly in the context of rising home prices and loss of affordable housing.

Indicator 2.4.1: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture

This indicator can measure the extent to which agricultural land is being used for sustainable and productive agriculture, considering the loss of farmland due to urbanization.

Indicator 9.1.1: Proportion of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road

This indicator can measure the accessibility of rural areas to infrastructure, including roads, which is important for supporting economic development and human well-being.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: nbcnews.com