According to Upstate Forever, Ten at the Top & Furman’s Riley Institute, we’re looking at a lot of growth in the 10 counties that make up the official “Upstate.” How much, exactly? The Upstate could more than double by 2040 with an increase of 300,000+ residents.

According to the study presented at the Shaping Our Future Forum last week:

Costs for services (water, sewer, roads, transit and police & fire protection) could climb to $650 million/year by 2040.
And, anticipated revenues for these utilties are projected to be less than $260 million/year by that time.

Where do these numbers come from? The study used planning tools to evaluate the land use and $$$ impacts of the region’s ‘business-as-usual’ scenario as well as three hypothetical alternatives that could potentially occur over the next 25 years.

The three alternatives were:

Compact Centers: An extreme example of compact development.
Major Corridors: Most new growth on major corridors.
Rural Villages: New development will happen in many ‘rural village nodes’ as well as major city centers across the region.

What now?
"This study helps us gain more clarity around the impacts of our current path and why it is important now to support communities and leaders who are trying to grow differently,” says Ten at the Top Executive Director Dean Hybl.

Upstate Forever