Irvine Ranks 11th on the List of Fastest Growing American Cities
It’s no surprise to many residents that Irvine’s population has grown. In fact, Irvine has grown by 21% over the last eight years and according to an article published in November 2019, Irvine is ranked #11 in the country! Here is the list of American cities that have grown the most since 2010:
The 25 cities that have grown the most since 2010
11. Irvine, California
> Population growth 2010-2018 21.0%
> Population in 2010 (Census) 212,375
> Population in 2018 (Census) 256,877
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) released the 2019 Local Profiles at the Regional Conference & General Assembly, held in Palm Desert on May 1-3, 2019. The reports provide updated data and analysis to support community planning efforts. You can see the 2019 local profiles reports here: SCAG Report
Irvine trends specifically, here: Irvine Trends
According to the SCAG report, Irvine has actually grown 30% from 2010-2018:
Population Growth Fueled by Housing Development
It’s understood that pressure is on from Sacramento and SCAG’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment. The City of Irvine estimates our building requirement allocation to be over 20K “permits issued” starting in 2020. But permits issued does not account for what actually gets built. According to the SCAG report and California Dept. of Finance E-5 2018 report, Irvine housing units have grown 26% from 81K in 2010 to 102K in 2018. Of note, it’s unclear as to the inclusion of UCI on campus student and staff housing on the data. UCI housing development is not subject to City of Irvine permitting processes.
If you’re curious as to how your neighborhood may be impacted by current permits issued and building in process, take a look at the City of Irvine’s interactive “Notable Development Map.” Lots of housing units, business centers, and even Wild Rivers in the Great Park. Not yet on the map, the Great Park water polo facility, cultural terrace, amphitheater, and more. Check out what’s “in the works” on the Great Park Planning & Development Page.
Updating Infrastructure and Irvine General Plan
Unfortunately, Irvine leaders are not currently taking tangible steps to improve the infrastructure to support the 40,000 additional residents, let alone any new potential growth. It is conceivable that Irvine will continue this growth trajectory for the next decade given the RHNA estimates and demand for high density housing. As Irvine residents, we should not have to just accept increased traffic, shrinking parking options, and school class sizes exploding- it is now time to get our general plan updated with thoughtful infrastructure solutions built in.
What changes to you think need to happen to our General Plan to accommodate such rapid growth?
1 Comments
Susan Sayre
December 7, 2019 at 4:52 amIrvine streets are not only full of Irvine residents’ traffic, but they are also full of traffic from surrounding cities driving on our grid streets to access the freeways and to access their jobs.
I have been asking for an Irvine circulation only transportation system for some time in order to accommodate the increased traffic and increased demand for parking resulting from our high RHNA affordable housing assignment. My latest proposal is a free on demand public transportation system similar to the system Newport Beach has. I am suggesting that the Irvine system have some designated stops (train station, Diamond Jamboree, the Spectrum, Great Park venues) and also respond to on demand riders via an app similar to an Uber app.
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