Interesting article in the paper today. Las Vegas is expected to grow by a MILLION residents by 2060. Yikes!

I assume this is if the place doesn't spontaneously combust or dry up and blow away before then. I wonder what they intend to use for drinking water?

Our town 100 miles south is currently about 40,000 was using a build out model of 85,000 back in the early 2000's (when there was only about 25,000 residents). But they revised it downward around 2012 to 55-60,000 by 2050. Still substantial growth anticipated.

A big outfit that owns our two shopping malls here just bought a 1/2 sq mile of BLM land just up the road from my shop. They intend to build an entire shopping and residential "town center" in the coming years and have started marketing for future homes.

I guess they will find out if people can live in 135 degree heat?

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www.reviewjournal.com/local/clark-county-expected-to-grow-by-1m-people-by-2060-2404822/

What's the plan for water ?

DnB - yeah. I keep thinking of the Mad Max movie, "Plan? There ain't no plan!" LOL

Lake Mead is only about 125 feet from "dead pool." That's when water will no longer flow through the dam. Vegas already spent years drilling a massive "drain" under the bottom of the lake.

JAC - going to have to do something. Seems if they can run oil pipe from Canada to the Gulf they can run a water pipe from somewhere. A lot of water flows out the Columbia River.

I just read in the Colorado Sun paper, they are going to start drawing down the Flaming Gorge in Utah, and Blue Mesa lake outside of Gunnison,CO, to keep the hydroelectric plant at Lake Powell operating.

Might be taking a page out of the Israel play book. Ship salt water to lake Mead and then run desalination plants.

That's really weird. It seems like Las Vegas is one of those places that is always knocked around more than other places during crises and crashes.

You had the housing bubble in 2006, and the crash in 2008. By 2010, there were articles about how 65% of homeowners in Las Vegas were upside-down on their homes. 186k lost their jobs because of the dependency on hospitality and gambling sector.

The thing at the Luxor didn't help. Neither has current events.

I understand that Las Vegas and Nevada understand that also, and are trying to diversify so that the next time Bad Stuff happens, it won't cripple them quite so much. But, like is pointed out, jobs are just one thing that needs to be adjusted to support a gigantic population increase. Infrastructure to support all those people is also important... and you're in the desert.

When we were in school, we'd study state history, and discuss ruins and abandoned settlements whose populations disappeared during periods of drought, as people abandoned them for less-fragile places. I live in the middle of a small patch of ghost towns that all disappeared due to economic reasons. Nevada isn't just Las Vegas. Yes, it's nice to have a huge population base to support a variety of industries. But it's also, perhaps, prudent to not just focus on the development of one mega-city, with an enormously concentrated population in a hostile environment.

I am skeptical of the growth projections for LV due to the following:

Declining birth rate.

Online gambling.

We are past peak boomer impact.