The map on the right shows the growth in Charlestown over the past 10 years. The black dots represent houses that were built before 1990, and the red dots represent houses that were built from 1990 to 1999. Click on the map to see an animation of growth as it occurred in the Charlestown over the past 100 years.

The graphs below further illustrate these trends, showing that there was a large amount of of growth in the 1980's which then subsided in the early 1990's during the recession and then increased again in the late 1990's.

This growth has been categorized as sprawl, and is part of a larger regional problem.

The development has both environmental and social implications. The development draws heavily on the groundwater resources of the town. It also has the potential to contaminate groundwater.

This growth has had far reaching social implications. The largely rural town is being transformed into a suburban landscape to the dismay of many of the town's inhabitants.

These concerns have caused Charlestown to create policies to manage this growth.