There’s been a lot of buzz around not only Nashville but the entire Middle Tennessee region regarding recent growth and development. But as noted by The Tennessean earlier today, the population in Nashville and nearly all of its surrounding suburbs has been on the rise for well over a decade now, and at a pace that’s surprised even the most knowledgeable experts.
According to recent statistics, Middle Tennessee had a population of about 1.45 million people back in 2003, and at the time, many projected that number to elevate to right around 1.86 million people by the beginning of 2015.
Although not far off, the estimation of 1.86 million was actually short by just over 43,000 people, which on the surface may not seem like a lot. But consider the fact that many smaller Nashville suburbs as a whole have fewer than 43,000 people, so just that influx alone is large enough to act as a small-to-medium sized city all on its own. And given the city of Nashville’s expected population for 2020 was actually surpassed back in 2014, one has to wonder whether Middle Tennessee’s new projected population of 2.9 million by 2040 will also come sooner than expected?
There’s no denying that Nashville and the rest of Middle Tennessee’s growth is truly something to be proud of, however, such growth certainly presents plenty of problems relating to infrastructure, housing, employment, and countless other economic issues. The good news for those of us living in Nashville, however, is that Music City is still widely considered to be one of the country’s least dense cities, so there’s plenty of room for growth well inside the city’s urban core. But as more and more people are expected to make their way to Nashville and beyond, look for more of the the region's vast and open farmland to be transformed into massive residential and commercial centers right before our very eyes.
