> develop the US through the addition of housing units would likely not lead to an increase in population but rather a decrease as tends to happen with develop

> develop the US through the addition of housing units would likely not lead to an increase in population but rather a decrease as tends to happen with development more broadly. That doesn't logically compute though. Decrease in population is correlated with housing shortage in US. Only conclusions we can draw from this is, 1. Housing is irrelevant to population growth or 2. Decreasing housing will lead to further population shrinking. 3. Housing has unknown effects on population growth. In which case it can go either way. I don't see how you it can lead to your conclusion.