Post #1456837
2025-07-23 16:19 UTC
@bkeegan @boulderreportinglab The land area covered by the city of Durham more than doubled in what I generally call the "great leap south", which left a band of growth along the I-40 corridor and around RTP and a wide swath of incorporated but undeveloped forest that didn't truly fill in until the last 15 years, and is still partially visible (around MLK Boulevard, largely).
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@MichaelTBacon@social.coop 2025-07-23 16:26
@bkeegan @boulderreportinglab Here's historical imagery from 1985 from Google Earth. The "old" city is easily visible along the railroad/US-70 corridor, plus the suburban-like growth to the north. The major housing growth from 1975-2000 was all along I-40 and 15-501 (Hope Valley Farms, Woodcroft, near RTP) During this time, city leaders were literally begging developers to build more in the old city center, but it didn't happen.