Sunnyvale, CA Population Density - II

Permanent Link:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2014/01/sunnyvale-ca-population-density-ii.html

This is part II, see also part I here:
http://calpensionsbrief.blogspot.com/2014/01/sunnyvale-ca-population-density-i.html

In examining population density it may be helpful to compare it to the surrounding area to see if any conclusions can be drawn based on density.  Current Mayor Jim Griffith mentioned in the League of Women Voters' Oct. 2013 candidate's forum that he thought Sunnyvale should have 200,000 people to accommodate all the office space here.  I put that in the table and charts as Sunnyvale+50%.  Since so much more office space has been or is about to be approved since the election, I also included a doubling of Sunnyvale's population to accommodate all the new office jobs as Sunnyvale+100%. Here are selected cities around San Francisco Bay with their populations and density/square mile:

City or Urban Area	Land Area in Sq. Miles	Population	Density per sq mi
San Francisco	47	825,111	17,620
Sunnyvale + 100%	22	280,162	12,400
Berkeley	10	112,580	10,752
Sunnyvale + 50%	22	210,122	9,300
Oakland	58	400,740	7,181
Alameda	11	73,812	6,956
Campbell	6	39,349	6,700
San Leandro	13	84,950	6,367
Santa Clara	18	116,468	6,300
Sunnyvale (2010)	22	140,081	6,200
Mountain View	12	74,066	6,172
San Jose (City)	177	984,299	5,576
Milpitas	14	66,790	4,900
San Jose Metro Area	448	1,894,388	4,228
Concord	31	122,067	4,000
Redwood City	35	76,815	3,956
Union City	19	71,763	3,700
Menlo Park	10	32,026	3,271
Walnut Creek	20	64,173	3,200
Newark	14	42,573	3,068
Palo Alto	24	64,403	2,500
Fremont	77	214,089	2,400
Saratoga	12	29,926	2,400
Hayward	45	144,186	2,300
SF Bay Area	6,984	7,150,000	1,023

The data is graphed below:

(Note Berkeley is denser than most but that may be because students live in very compact quarters.)

It is hard to see any correlation between population density and any urban characteristic such as safety, shopping availability, or public transport.  

BART serves Concord, Fremont and other cities in the East Bay which have much less density than Sunnyvale has now (2010 census).  It is not density but political will that is lacking to get BART to serve San Jose, Sunnyvale, and other nearby communities.

Does anyone want to seriously argue that increased density implies increased safety?  Oakland is denser than Palo Alto.

Is shopping better in dense Oakland compared to not-dense Palo Alto?

One can argue whether increased density is desirable or not but arguing that increasing density necessarily leads to better public transport, lower crime, or better or more convenient shopping should come up with some data confirming their hypothesis.  Nothing in the above data confirms a correlation between density and much of anything.