New NPG Forum Paper Examines America's New Boom-and-Bust Cycle

How Data Centers and Big Tech Are Shaping America's Fastest-Growing Communities

Published on Mar. 6, 2026

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Negative Population Growth, Inc. (NPG) has published a new Forum paper by journalist and researcher Mark Cromer examining the explosive rise of America's modern boomtowns and the risk that today's growth hotspots could become tomorrow's ghost towns. The paper traces a familiar American pattern of rapid expansion fueled by speculation, technology, and migration, followed by economic and environmental strain that can leave communities vulnerable to sudden decline.

Why it matters

The paper highlights how this boom-and-bust cycle is re-emerging in the 21st century, with data centers, Big Tech, and speculative development replacing gold strikes and oil fields as the primary engines of growth. It documents how once-small communities are being transformed at breathtaking speed, often with lasting consequences for land use, infrastructure, and quality of life.

The details

The paper explores how communities like Frisco, Texas, and Loudoun County, Virginia, have seen explosive population growth driven by the expansion of data centers and major technology employers. In Frisco, the town's history has been "buried" by the boom, as much of the rich farm and ranch land was sold off, paved over, and built out. Loudoun County's population surged from 86,000 in 1990 to over 420,000 by 2020.

  • In 1990, Loudoun County's population was 86,000.
  • By 2000, Loudoun County's population had grown to nearly 170,000.
  • By 2010, Loudoun County's population had spiked to 312,000.
  • By 2020, Loudoun County's population had raced past 420,000 people.

The players

Negative Population Growth, Inc. (NPG)

A non-profit organization that has worked since 1972 to educate the public and policy leaders about the impacts of overpopulation, with a goal of stabilizing U.S. population at a sustainable level.

Mark Cromer

A journalist and researcher who authored the new NPG Forum paper examining the rise of America's modern boomtowns and the risk of bust.

Frisco, Texas

A town that has seen rapid population growth and development, with much of the rich farm and ranch land sold off, paved over, and built out.

Loudoun County, Virginia

A county that has experienced surging population growth alongside the expansion of data centers and major technology employers.

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What they’re saying

“America's history is rich with cities that exploded across the landscape before collapsing. Does runaway population growth foretell that phenomena again?”

— Mark Cromer, Journalist and researcher (NPG Forum paper)

“By any estimation, Frisco's growth amounted to a massive sonic boom—cumulative over time, but sudden in its effects. The town's history has been, in many respects, not so much transformed by the boom but rather buried by it, as much of the rich farm and ranch land of Frisco was simply sold off, paved over and built out.”

— Mark Cromer, Journalist and researcher (NPG Forum paper)

“In 1990, the population was 86,000. By 2000 the county had grown to nearly 170,000... By 2010, Loudoun's population had spiked to 312,000... and then raced past 420,000 people by 2020.”

— Mark Cromer, Journalist and researcher (NPG Forum paper)

What’s next

The paper asks a timely and unsettling question: are today's booming communities building durable futures—or setting themselves up for the next great American bust?

The takeaway

This case study highlights the risks of unchecked population growth and rapid development driven by data centers and big tech, which can transform communities and leave them vulnerable to sudden economic and environmental decline, echoing patterns from America's past.