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Regarding growth in the boonies: I live 80 miles from the nearest traffic light, in a town of about 1,000 people. This one does not even show up on the old maps, but it was the first one around here to put in sewers, which led to a concentration of businesses. New houses are still going up here, even though the hospital is loosing services and other, nearby towns are shrinking. Originally, there was a town every seven miles along the railway, to provide water for steam locomotives, and because farms were small and labour-intensive. One of the ghost towns was bought up by people from Vancouver, avoiding the Olympic debt, etc.
Re: overpopulation in poor countries. There is a clear pattern of people having large families if there is no other form of old-age security. Also, in poor areas, children are a major source of entertainment, and often an asset to a family business.
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