The best writer on America's cities takes on the urban myth.Joel Kotkin says:
Yet in the case of America's cities, the media has often made things appear rosier than they really are. The idea that American cities, indeed cities worldwide, are experiencing a renaissance has been widely, and often uncritically, accepted since the late 1990s.
Here's some hard facts:
What's more, these population setbacks for cities are taking place at a time when the growth of suburbs, exurbs, and more rural communities has continued. Even during the late '90s, a relative boom time for cities, five people moved out of central cities for every three who came in. The imbalance crossed every single age group, from the elderly to those between the ages of 15 and 24. It even applied to the demographic that is supposedly helping to spark urban renewal--the 25 to 34 year old set.
Kotkin also reminds us:
In 1969, only 11 percent of America's largest companies were headquartered in the suburbs; a quarter century later roughly half were in the periphery.
Read the entire article.
The New Republic.
