With over 280 million people living in the United states, it would seem as though we must surely be running out of open spaces, right? Well not according to a new study by the Thoreau Institute which found, amazingly, that only a few smaller states, like Connecticut and Rhode Island, have over a third of their land developed. Another seven states are around the 13 percent level, and the remaining states are, believe it or not, less than 7 percent developed. With the study also uncovering the fact that almost 95 percent of America is classified as rural open spaces, and these areas are growing, it seems that alarmist claims about overdevelopment are as vacant as an empty lot!