The District of Columbia lost 26,000 jobs from 1980 to 1994, while the suburbs gained a net of 15,000 jobs despite federal downsizing. Today, three out of four new jobs are in the suburbs. As people and jobs push out from the urban core, traffic gridlock has become the norm. Washington area commuters waste 71 hours a year in traffic congestion, ranking second-highest in the country. The burden on the taxpayer mounts as communities struggle to meet the rising demand for public services.
Environmental consequences are also widespread.
Runoff from farms and city streets as well as increased air pollution all contribute to degrading the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. Farmland lost to subdivisions could total 40,000 acres from 1996 to 2006. Increasingly, Washington area residents are voicing their concerns about unfettered expansion in the region. According to a recent Washington Post poll, two-thirds of adults in rural areas south of the city want limits on construction of houses and malls. Eighty percent want mass transit to ease crowded roadways.