The end of suburbia and single-family homes

I found this chart on a website about economic forecasts for 2009 .

It looks as though slowly but surely, the real estate developers are responding to the market forces against low density housing.

In the chart, single family units have been on the decline since 2005, whereas multiple family units has been steady.

This chart supports the prediction that the ultimate consequence of rising energy and transportation costs is a contraction of housing development towards higher density, multiple family units.

This is a good sign for transportation reform, since low density suburbs have been one of the biggest deterrents to political support for improving public transit systems.

Here's how it may play out

Developers stop building new single-family homes, but continue with multi-family units
The lack of new homes, tightening credit, and rising gas prices will raise the cost of suburb living
The rising cost of suburban living will force residents into the more affordable high density areas
The rise in urban residents will result in increased ridership on public transit
The increased ridership will force more routes and decrease time waiting for the next bus/train
The improved service will result in higher ridership, and more movement to the urban centers
This feedback cycle will plummet the real estate value of the old suburbia
The now cheap real estate outside the urban center will attract manufacturing to fill in the void

Net Result

safer, more affordable, transportation
less dependency on oil imports
more manufacturing jobs