RESUMO
PIP: Some established facts about the growth of population in the world, in the United States, and in Arizona are considered. The existing or impending problems toward which planners should direct attention are determined. Numerically there are now 3.3 billion humans in the world, and if the present trend continues, this number will reach 7.4 billion by the year 2000. In some areas population is increasing at a much more rapid rate than in others. In Latin America, for example, the population will double in 20 years. The rate of population growth in the U.S. is lower than the world-wide rate, roughly about 1% to 2% each year. This means that the U.S. population will not double for about 50 years. Consequences of present rates of population growth include diseases and starvation. Consumption of natural resources and resulting thermal, liquid, solid, and gaseous pollution inevitably will control population if intelligent interventions are not made to accomplish the reduction without disaster. Aside from the natural increase of population in Arizona, there will be an inevitable increase from immigration which undoubtedly will accelerate as conscious efforts are made to redistribute population in the rest of the United States. More planning is needed. The fact is that no policy now exists for population planning at any level--global, national, or state. There must be planning as to optimum use of lands, the location and arrangement of cities and residences to afford maximum opportunity for individual expressions. There must be planning for the optimum numbers of people that can occupy available space and use resources in a manner that will preserve the highest possible quality of life. The goal of a zero rate of population growth must be adopted immediately and there must be popular acceptance of the 2-child family as the desired national norm.^ieng
