More difficult to quantify but extremely important to the sustained vitality of southwestern urban areas would be any long-term changes in climate. Improved models and predictive capabilities for this region would be extremely valuable. For example, warmer temperatures could render the region a less desirable place to live, resulting in less immigration and thus less development. Intraregional shifts of population from rural to urban areas could exacerbate increasing risks within the urban sector. Thus, urbanization patterns driven by climate change, even across regions of the country, become extremely important to communities in this region.
Tourism is a major income source for many southwestern communities.
Shorter cool periods and longer hot periods could diminish the number of winter visitors and the length of their stays. Intraregional shifts in destinations for seasonal visitors would move the benefits and costs of climate change among tourism sectors. Any increase in snowfall, for instance, would benefit the ski industry that is particularly vulnerable to snow-season precipitation. With regard to the potential change in hazards in general, the insurance industry would have a unique interest in shifting climatic patterns. The Southwest is particularly vulnerable to energy costs with high summer usage for the lower elevations and higher elevations experiencing higher demand in the winter.