Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
0 to 10 km
20 to 30 km
40 to 50 km
10 to 20 km
30 to 40 km
50 to 60 km
Orleans
Baton Rouge
Figure 7.7.
Annual net population growth according to distance from the center
About 72% of population growth remains confined within a radius of 10 km of
Orléans, compared to only 10% of that of the MSA of Baton Rouge at the same
distance from the center (see Figure 7.7). However, 78% of the growth occurs within
10-40 kilometers from Baton Rouge's city hall. The consequence of these differences
is that the population was denser and more concentrated in Orléans in 1999 than it
was in 1990. Balanced by the number of inhabitants, we find that the standard
distance from the center decreased slightly in Orléans between 1990 and 1999, while
it increased slightly in Baton Rouge between 1990 and 2000 (see Table 7.5).
Indicator
Orléans*
Baton Rouge
Standard distance 1990 (km)
11.84
17.21
Standard distance 1999*/2000 (km)
11.82
17.5
Inter-census urban spread
-0.02
+0.29
Table 7.5.
Compared spread of the population, Orléans and Baton Rouge
While the distance to the center was a barrier to urbanization around Orléans in
the 1990s, it played an amplifying role for urbanization around Baton Rouge. The
capital of Louisiana is therefore a widespread city, a description that we cannot
apply to Orléans during the same period, despite the conventional process of urban
growth which involves a certain expansion of the territorial influence of
urbanization. Even if there are some comparable elements in the statistics on
suburbanization, housing, and cars, the phenomenon is incomparably stronger in the
United States.
