1. Nassau County
ANALYZING HUMAN POPULATION
GROWTH:
by Chris Vetrano
8/8/2013

2. This graph is for 2000.
The graphs on the right are for 2010 and 2040. Mostly what you see is a
decrease in population but the proportions are similar over the years.
The 2000 census shows the age and gender distributions are
remarkably close to equal from 0 to 80. At 80+ there are more females
than males. In 2010 you can see a similar pattern.

3. STATE FLAGDate Population Date Population
1/1/1790 9,855 1/1/1900 55,448
1/1/1800 10,274 1/1/1910 83,930
1/1/1810 11,892 1/1/1920 126,120
1/1/1820 13,273 1/1/1930 303,053
1/1/1830 13,411 1/1/1940 406,748
1/1/1840 15,844 1/1/1950 672,765
1/1/1850 18,240 1/1/1960 1,300,171
1/1/1860 24,488 1/1/1970 1,428,285
1/1/1870 28,335 1/1/1980 1,321,582
1/1/1880 34,015 1/1/1990 1,287,348
1/1/1890 41,009 1/1/2000 1,336,073
1/1/2010 1,339,532
1/1/2011 1,344,000
Historically from 1790 to 1900 it
doubled approximately every 50
years. From 1900 to 1920 it double
and from 1920 to 1950 it doubled.
Doubling approx. every 20 years.
Then a huge population growth
occurred. In ten years it doubled
from 672,765 to 1,300,171. In 1970 it
peaked at 1,428,285 and has stayed
below that since. “Since 1920, the
population in Nassau County has
grown rapidly, especially in the years
following World War II. Population
peaked at 1.4 million in 1970 after
increasing by 251 percent since
1940. Over the next decade, the
population declined by 7.5 percent
but has since remained stable.”
(OSC, 2006) Today the population of
Nassau County is approximately
1,344,000.

4. “Looking at a map of NH White VAP population change from 2000 to 2010, it is clear that
without growth in the minority communities, Nassau would have actually lost total
population during this period. Indeed, NH White VAP declined by nearly 9% overall – most
heavily in Elmont-Valley Stream and Baldwin within the Town of Hempstead.” (NCURC,
2012)
Nassau County seems to be stabilized at around 1.3m, there has been little change in
growth over the last 60 years. One factor is the availability of housing. Most development
happens on old sites, rather than new construction on undeveloped land. I do not see there
being much change in population considering the data and the land available for new
housing. “The pace of growth in Nassau has been slower than in other downstate counties;
however, Nassau is already more developed than neighboring suburbs. While this limits its
opportunities for growth, Nassau’s current population density is more than double the
next densest county in the downstate region, and the county has one of the lowest rates of
unemployment in the State.” (OSC, 2006) Also from 2000 to 2010, more than 600,000
people moved from New York to Florida, according to the Tax Foundation. The relocation
of New Yorkers to warmer states has increased and also contributes to the stabilization of
its population.
“Nassau’s high population density, the scarcity of available land, and the
preponderance of single-family homes contribute to the stability of its
population.” (OSC, 2006)

5. The graph below shows the age distribution and median age from 1960
to 2010. There is a 7 year median age change from 1960 to 2010 The age
distribution fluctuates between 4% to 10% except for the under 18 age
group, which decrease almost 16%.

6. Since future growth for Nassau County is unlikely, the impact to the
environment will be the usual suspects. One significant environmental issues that
is affecting Nassau County, is the increase of vehicles on the road since the original
explosion of growth in the 1960’s. More people today can afford cars. With more
vehicles driving on a road system that was designed in the 1950’s and 1960’s, traffic
jams are more common place, this in turn increases fuel consumption. In a study
done in Germany this was proven. “On the road sections covered by the NGSIM
data, we found that traffic congestion typically lead to an increase of fuel
consumption of the order of 80% while the travelling time has increased by a factor
of up to 4. We conclude that the influence of congestions on fuel consumption is
distinctly lower than that on travel time.” (Treiber, 2007) Increase fuel
consumption creates a whole host of related issues. Air Quality is affected,
Greenhouse gases are emitted, Noise pollution, the Ozone is depleted, and Water
quality is affected (oil and particles run-off from roads into storm water drains.
These feed into creeks and rivers, which eventually meet the sea.), also the Use of
resources (such as metals, petroleum (for plastics and fuel) and other fossil fuels
(e.g. coal for production of electricity) are used. The USGBC Long Island Chapter
was promoting a program called, Sustainable Transportation: Unclogging Long
Island's Roadways The program was held in April of 2013 and discussed the
negative impacts of transportation on Long Island and reviewed the potential
benefits of several proposed transportation initiatives.
I think Nassau County has been slow in adapting “Green” practices. Having been
developed over 40 years ago, it has not been able to adjust to the newer “Greener”
building practices as fast and it’s a good thing that population has stabilized,
otherwise I think Nassau County would serious environmental issues on their
hands. The stable population gives them time to adapt at a slower rate.
Westbound rush-hour traffic on
the Long Island Expressway is
slow approaching Exit 44 after
a vehicle overturned in the
high-occupancy-vehicle lane and
forced lane closures at about 6
a.m. (Jan. 23, 2013)