Today's Fresh Meat

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

By 2050, Hispanics are projected to make up 52 percent of the state's population,and their setbacks and successes will mold California's economy,according to a Department of Finance study reported in the SacramentoBee. The state will add 25 million people to its ranks, bringing themid-century population to 60 million. Among the challenges associated with this population surgeare lowering the achievement gap between white and minority students,and pursuing development in a responsible way, according to columnistDan Walters

The brunt of this growth will be felt in Southern California, where Riverside County is projected to rise in population by more than 200 percent and surpass its neighbors as the second largest county in the state,according to the Los Angeles Times. Riverside residents are probablygoing to have to accept higher density, lest we lose the decliningrural areas the area has left. A 200 percent increase is, as LosAngeles economist Jack Kyser put it, "opportunity with baggage."

The topic of managed growth has often been anathema to architects anddevelopers, but according to a conversation between the Sacramento Beeand several professionals, the trends in building correlate with efforts at sustainability. People are demanding smaller homes and younger architects are committed to energy efficiency.

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Photo courtesy of Population Poison.