At the present rate of US population growth (~0.7%/year), our population would double in about 100 years. However, in my lifetime, (which included the baby boom) the US population has nearly tripled. Whatever the future growth turns out to be, we will soon have to be building a whole new country as well rebuilding the old one. Whew! What a task. It’s not to soon to be discussing plans for this “building boom”.
With the proliferation of AC in our houses, cars and businesses that began about the middle of century number 20, almost all the recent growth has been in the southern states where it used to be too hot for comfort.
But will climate change force a reversal of direction? If we take the necessary steps to save our planet and fossil fuels are phased out as a source, energy is going to be increasingly expensive. I know, wind, solar, tides and nuclear are coming, but with population growth and our present usage pattern, will it be cheap?
I believe that we will and must start conserving energy. Among the big energy hogs to look at is AC. It seems to me that heating buildings with passive solar will be a lot simpler than inefficiently converting sunlight to electricity with panels on the roof and then inefficiently converting electricity to mechanical energy to compress Freon.
We have the technology for passive solar heat. Double pane, argon filled windows, closed cell foam insulation, clerestory windows etc. Have you ever been in a greenhouse on a cloudy day? It works. Just add some thermal mass to get through the night.
Another energy waste is stop and start driving in 2 ton automobiles, often with a single occupant. One alternative could be energy efficient road systems, If you could drive slow and steady (35 mph, say) 100 mpg would be possible and it would take only take an hour or so to drive across a city.
All those old northern cities had efficient public transportation until the malignant growth of suburbs became attached. I believe we could expand cities and build new ones that are well planned metropolitan units instead of leaving the growth to real estate developers. I just takes political will. I remain hopeful that my conservative friends will get needed therapy.