The Urban Bubble

Joel Kotkin reports:

It is also hard to make a case that urban centers are now attracting hordes of the upwardly mobile and well-off aging boomers, as is often suggested. Studies by the Brookings Institution demographer, William H. Frey, and real estate industry experts have found that relatively few well-heeled empty-nesters are deserting their suburban nests for the core. In fact, most are staying close to home, while about as many head further out than move in.

Similarly, middle class residents continue to leave urban centers, particularly as they enter their thirties and start having families. Most major urban school districts face declining enrollments; in Chicago, public school enrollment has declined by 41,000 in the last seven years alone. Despite reports of many more families with strollers in Manhattan, the numbers of urban children traditionally falls dramatically once kids reach school age. If you look at 10-year olds, notes an analysis by Praxis Strategy group, Manhattan’s youth population dwindles to almost half the national average.

You'll want to read the whole article.Yet,another great one from Joel Kotkin.