Brooklyn\u2019s Prospect Park is dog heaven. On sunny Saturday mornings, the park\u2019s open green space, Long Meadow, fills with hundreds of canines frolicking during off-leash hours. The dogs\u2019 owners hover nearby like watchful parents who, when playtime ends, head over to the nearby farmers\u2019 market or go out for brunch. Later in the day, they might make time for doggie yoga or the pet bakery before coming home to their pet-friendly apartment buildings, many featuring dog baths and groomers.<\/p>\n
Roughly 600,000 dogs live<\/a> in New York City, along with half a million cats. About half of U.S. households own a pet, which adds up to<\/a> at least 77 million dogs and 54 million cats. Generationally, millennials are the most enthusiastic pet owners, with some 70 percent boasting<\/a> of having at least one pet.<\/p>\n What you\u2019re less likely to see, especially in America\u2019s largest cities<\/a>, are children. Pets are now more common than kids in many U.S. cities. San Francisco, for example, is home<\/a> to nearly 150,000 dogs but just 115,000 children under age 18. Farther north, Seattle has more households<\/a> with cats than with kids. Nationwide, pets outnumber children<\/a> in apartment buildings. In New York neighborhoods like Long Island City and Williamsburg, wealthy singles<\/a> have the highest number of pooches per capita.<\/p>\n In a recent Atlantic<\/em> essay<\/a>, Derek Thompson wrote about how \u201cAmerica\u2019s urban rebirth is missing a key element: births.\u201d Manhattan\u2019s infant population is projected to halve in 30 years. High-density cities are losing families with children over age six, while growing their populations of college-educated residents without children. Indeed, the share of children under 20 living in big cities has been falling for 40 years.<\/p>\n Young professionals\u2019 four-legged friends have replaced those babies.<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Are Cities Going to the Dogs? Millennials favor pet ownership over children in America\u2019s increasingly unaffordable cities. https:\/\/t.co\/WzshhqNff1<\/a> via @michael_hendrix<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/BLKXdV7iX2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 City Journal (@CityJournal) October 9, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n