Cities are growing at the expense of suburbs

The most recent census data shows that cities are growing at the expense of suburbs, according to a July 1 Wall Street Journal article. The demographic shift is a combination of preference for urban environments, and inability to sell homes in the city (although the sales situation is probably worse in distant suburban locations), and job opportunities that cities offer, the Journal says.  

The central-city population in US metropolitan areas with more than one million people (excluding New Orleans, where recent growth rates reflect residents returning to the city following Hurricane Katrina) grew at an annual rate of 0.97 percent between July 2007 and July 2008, according to an analysis of Census data by William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, the Journal reports.

“That compared with a growth rate of 0.90 percent in 2006-2007, and growth rates around 0.5 percent in the years between 2002 and 2005, when the robust real-estate market led to new jobs and new housing developments outside the cities, where open land is more plentiful.”

“ ‘This shows cities were reviving at the end of this decade, and they are also surviving a recession that has been a lot harsher for other parts of our landscape,’ Mr. Frey said. ‘Cities are big enough and diverse enough that they are able to survive these ups and downs in the economy a lot better.’ ”