DAVIS HISTORY
Why Davis became so focused on controlling growth
Rapid population and university expansion in the 1960s and 1970s fueled a long-running Davis debate over how much the city should grow and where.
Growth control became central to Davis politics because residents watched the town transform almost overnight. In the late 1960s, planning studies contemplated dramatically larger populations, even as residents worried about losing the community’s character. The debate evolved into decades of increasingly growth-conscious planning and became one of the defining political themes of modern Davis.
1960sDavis population and UC enrollment surge.
1967–69Planning documents contemplate a much larger future city.
1970s onwardGrowth control becomes a durable local political issue.
Period1960s onward
EvidenceDocumented
Last checked2026-08-18
SourceCity of Davis — Growing Pains, Chapter 7