Polls Page - Colorado Sprawl

Poll of 1,024 Colorado Likely Voters

Anti-growth is a 90-to-10 voter issue in Colorado that almost no elected, corporate or civic leaders in the state are talking about. (Full results here.) 90% desire a future in which far fewer people move into the state. Nearly three of every five voters (59%) prefer either a complete stop to population growth or a decline in the current population size of Colorado.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture calculates that Colorado, over the last four decades, has turned more than 1,250 square miles of Open Space, natural habitat, and agricultural land into housing, shopping malls, streets and other urban development. On balance, has this made Colorado a better place to live, a worse place to live or did it not have much effect?”

“Has Colorado developed too much, too little, or about as much as it should?”

“If recent trends continue, Colorado demographers project that the state's human population of 5.8 million will grow by another 1.8 million by 2050, joining Colorado Springs, Denver and Fort Collins together into a single "mega-city." Do you find this prospect to be more positive or more negative?”

“If Colorado adds another 1.8 million residents, do you expect traffic to become much worse or would the government be able to build enough extra transportation capacity to accommodate the extra residents without more congestion?”

“Colorado cities compete for scarce water with the agricultural industry, which relies on irrigation for most of its cropland. Should water used to cultivate crops be diverted to support additional human population growth?”

“Colorado is a mostly arid state with limited water in its streams and rivers. Is it more important for the remaining level of water in streams and rivers to be used to support wildlife habitat, fish and birds, or is it more important to use the remaining water in Colorado streams to support the projected increase of residents in the state?”

“A study of government data found that 86% or more of the depletion of Colorado’s Open Space, natural habitat, and farmland in recent decades was related to Colorado's rapid population growth. Would continuing this level of population growth into the future make Colorado better, worse or not much different?”

“In recent years, have you sensed that Colorado's cities, parks, neighborhoods, schools, and roads have become much more crowded, somewhat more crowded, somewhat less crowded, or much less crowded?”

“Colorado's population has approximately doubled since 1980. Would you prefer that Colorado’s population continue to rapidly grow, that it grow more slowly, that it stay about the same size, or that it become smaller?”

“A major source of Colorado’s population growth is people moving in from other states, especially California. Should local and state governments in Colorado make it more difficult for people to move to Colorado from other states by restricting development?”

“Another major source of Colorado’s population growth is immigration from other countries. Should the federal government reduce annual immigration to slow down Colorado's population growth, keep immigration and population growth at the current level, or increase annual immigration and population growth?”

DISAPPEARING COLORADO

Poll of 1,024 Colorado Likely Voters

Two Decades of NumbersUSA Studies on Population Growth and Urban Sprawl

STUDIES

REPORTS

Poll of 1,024 Colorado Likely Voters

“Has Colorado developed too much, too little, or about as much as it should?”

“If Colorado adds another 1.8 million residents, do you expect traffic to become much worse or would the government be able to build enough extra transportation capacity to accommodate the extra residents without more congestion?”

“Colorado cities compete for scarce water with the agricultural industry, which relies on irrigation for most of its cropland. Should water used to cultivate crops be diverted to support additional human population growth?”

“From an environmental standpoint how important is it to preserve Colorado's mountains, native grasslands, rivers, forests, and canyons?”

“In recent years, have you sensed that Colorado's cities, parks, neighborhoods, schools, and roads have become much more crowded, somewhat more crowded, somewhat less crowded, or much less crowded?”

“Colorado's population has approximately doubled since 1980. Would you prefer that Colorado’s population continue to rapidly grow, that it grow more slowly, that it stay about the same size, or that it become smaller?”

“A major source of Colorado’s population growth is people moving in from other states, especially California. Should local and state governments in Colorado make it more difficult for people to move to Colorado from other states by restricting development?”

Two Decades of NumbersUSA Studies on Population Growth and Urban Sprawl

STUDIES

REPORTS