On Urbanization Indices

As the Natick subdivisions age their first 15 years, the proportion of occupants with less than five years' residence falls. With this drop in the proportion of new residents a change occurs in the age distribution of children in the subdivisions. New residents in owner-occupied subdivisions have more children aged 0-5 than old residents in the same subdivision, and fewer children aged 12-17. As the subdivisions age, and the proportion of new residents falls, the number of children aged 0-5 drops and the number of children aged 12-17 rises, both tending to approach the number of children predicted for these age groups by births in the community as a whole. These relationships suggest the fruitfulness of using housing data in the prediction of school enrollment in residential subdivisions. It will take further research to explain the high birth rate of new home owners in this type of subdivision. The relationships examined here are necessarily limited to subdivisions of a particular type drawing a particular socio-economic class. Exploration of the complex of motivations involved may contribute to knowledge of the factors influencing residential mobility.