Originally Posted by Northern Light
I think the first thing is to say the obvious, but un-stated, this idea largely refers to Americans in the developed world. At least in my experience Canadians, Europeans, East Asians, Australians etc. don't find cities particularly scary.
Moving on from there, I think there are 2 things specific to the American experience.
The first is that the U.S. is a low-trust society.
While were obviously dealing in generalizations here, Americans are much more into fences, gates, space from one's neighbour, and just aren't as trusting of each other or the state, as compared with many other peoples.
If you are raised from a young age, both explicitly and subconsciously to fear others, then cities are gonna scare you relative to suburbs or small towns as there are so many more people, so many more strangers, and so many more 'others', living closer together.
Beyond that, I would suggest that U.S. 'race relations' are a big factor here. Minorities tend to be concentrated in many urban centres, while 'whites' tend to dominate more suburban an rural areas.
Of course, there are exceptions, but I would say the above is the norm in the U.S. context.
Given that many Americans are raised with a general fear of others, and that those who look less like 'us' (whatever your 'us' is) tend to be relatively more fear-inducing, more unknown etc., it should surprise no one that those who are 'safely' ensconsed in their more homogeneous group, with more space, and fences, might wish to stay there.
***
Add to that, the perceptions of poverty, which certainly don't apply in many downtowns/urban areas, but do in some; and which have been broadly showcased in American culture and urban areas become less desirable still.
Finally, you have the practical, many cities have downtowns that while clean, have low residential population and are near ghostly after dark. In so far as those are upmarket, clean examples of urban form, they don't always offer the amenities people might require to live from grocery stores to childcare.
****
The above is changing.
Its a function of many different things from secular declines in crime (mostly demographically driven by fewer teens), to reinvestments in downtowns as showpieces.
Its also a function of popular culture where tv and cinema have moved to showcase urban living in a more positive way; a move to allow and facilitate greater residential and mixed-use development in core areas; and a newer generation which while far from prejudice-free has grown up in greater numbers exposed to more positive images of folks from different backgrounds; and have come to view suburbia less as respite from the world and more as isolation from the action.
Just my 2 cents.
|