The New Suburbanism

Joel Kotkin reports:

In attempting to turn back the clock, urbanists have spent a generation looking for a means to revive city centers as the core of American economic, political, and social life. Yet in seeking to build the urban future, they have largely ignored the one place that clearly represents the predominant form of urbanism in the twenty-first century: suburbia.

Conventional wisdom--particularly among the media--has it that traditional cities are enjoying a massive resurgence. In 1999 the Economist suggested that "more Americans [are] abandoning their love affair with far-flung suburbs and shopping malls." The recovery in some downtowns, suggested Jonathan Fanton, president of the Minneapolis-based MacArthur Foundation, heralded a new "urban renaissance."

But this may be more a case of wishful thinking than actuality. Since 1950 more than 90 percent of all growth in U.S. metropolitan areas has been in the suburbs. Nor is this trend showing any sign of turning around. Census data show that since 2000 even healthy urban centers like New York, Boston, Portland, and San Francisco have experienced slowing or declining population growth. Meanwhile suburbs in those regions and elsewhere have been capturing an ever-expanding percentage of both people and jobs.

There appears to be no comeback to big,old,industrial cities.The 1950's Census numbers seem to be the record high for many cities.Another great article by Joel Kotkin.