How the Suburbs Gave Birth to America's Most Diverse Neighborhoods

[M II A II R II K]

How the Suburbs Gave Birth to America's Most Diverse Neighborhoods


Jul 20, 2012

By Myron Orfield

Read More: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/hou...borhoods/2647/

PDF Report: http://www.law.umn.edu/uploads/5f/0b...urbs_FINAL.pdf

Despite the stereotypes, suburban communities are now at the cutting edge of racial, ethnic and even political change in America. Racially integrated suburbs are growing faster than their white counterparts. Diverse suburban neighborhoods now outnumber those in their central cities by more than two to one. Fully 44 percent of suburban residents in the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas live in racially integrated communities, places between 20 and 60 percent non-white.

- By mid-century, the increasingly metropolitan nation that is the United States will have no racial majority. Last year a majority of the children born in the United States and nearly half of students in public schools were non-white. Almost 60 percent of U.S population lives in the 50 largest regions, 80 percent in its metropolitan areas. At the same time, a growing number of central city blacks and Latinos experience apartheid levels of segregation and civic dysfunction. In comparison, despite challenges, integrated suburbs are gaining in population and prosperity. Given these trends, ensuring successful racially integrated communities represent the best policy path for the nation’s educational, economic and political success.

- Stably integrated suburbs are places where whites and non-whites can grow up, study, work, and govern together effectively. Integrated communities have the greatest success eliminating racial disparities in education and economic opportunity. While non-whites in integrated communities have seen improvements in these areas, non-white residents of segregated urban communities are further behind than ever. In integrated communities, whites and non-whites have the most positive perceptions of one another. These communities are much more likely to be politically balanced and functional places that provide high quality government services at affordable tax rates than high-poverty, segregated areas. In environmental terms, they are denser, more walkable, more energy-efficient and otherwise more sustainable than outer suburbs, and benefit from their proximity both to central cities and outer suburban destinations.

- Yet, while integrated suburbs represent great hope, they face serious challenges to their prosperity and stability. In America, integrated communities have a hard time staying integrated for extended periods. Neighborhoods that were more than 23 percent non-white in 1980 were more likely to become predominately non-white (more than 60 percent non-white) during the next 25 years than to remain integrated. Illegal discrimination — in the form of steering by real estate agents, mortgage lending and insurance discrimination, subsidized housing placement, and racial gerrymandering of school attendance boundaries — is causing rapid racial change and economic decline.

Critical to stabilizing these suburbs are the following strategies:

• Creation of local stable integration plans with fair housing ordinances, incentives for pro-integrative home loans, cooperative efforts with local school districts, and financial support of pro-integrative community-based organizations.

• Greater enforcement of existing civil rights laws including the Fair Housing Act, especially the sections related to racial steering, mortgage lending discrimination and location of publicly subsidized affordable housing.

• Adoption of regional strategies to limit exclusionary zoning and require affluent suburbs to accommodate their fair share of affordable housing.

• Adoption of metropolitan-scale strategies to promote more integrated schools.

......

[the urban politician]

This really is the trend for suburbia, especially in larger metropolitan areas.

If you visit many of Chicago's suburban shopping malls, you often will see just as many (or even more) non-whites than whites these days.

Meanwhile, many of the core neighborhoods of the city seem to have less diversity than they supposedly used to. The city still has solid ethnic community areas for sure, still unmatched by the suburbs. But in a sense, the suburbs are America's true melting pot these days.

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

This really is the trend for suburbia, especially in larger metropolitan areas.

If you visit many of Chicago's suburban shopping malls, you often will see just as many (or even more) non-whites than whites these days.

Meanwhile, many of the core neighborhoods of the city seem to have less diversity than they supposedly used to. The city still has solid ethnic community areas for sure, still unmatched by the suburbs. But in a sense, the suburbs are America's true melting pot these days.

Wait...so an inner-city neighborhood that was formerly 8% white that is now 20% white is less diverse? I guess adding white people to a non-white area doesn't count as diversity.

[jboy560]

I think TUP is probably referring to areas that are gentrifying. In Chicago, I'd bet that places like Lakeview, West Town, the Near South Side, etc, are mainly only adding whites and potentially crowding out other groups.

This is entirely just a guess so correct me if I'm wrong, but Chicago's West Town neighborhood is majority white and I bet it was probably much more black and hispanic even just a decade ago.

[MostlyHarmless]

Who the hell can afford the city these days? I consider myself well off (not rich by any means, but not struggling) and I can barely afford my neighborhood. The upper class suburbs will stay the same, but everything else will mix...the city is quickly becoming home to only the well-to-do.

Originally Posted by TarHeelJ

Wait...so an inner-city neighborhood that was formerly 8% white that is now 20% white is less diverse? I guess adding white people to a non-white area doesn't count as diversity

We all know whites offer nothing in terms of diversity. :-p If we had it our way everything would be Target, CVS, Starbucks, and Chipotle.

Seriously though, the gentrified areas of Chicago (aka, white) have sadly lost everything that made them awesome to begin with. Every neighborhood is starting to look the same now. Such is the way of gentrification.

[mhays]

A city of three million in a nine million metro is all well-to-do? First, you're omitting the poor parts. Second, your definition of "well to do" seems very broad.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by TarHeelJ

Wait...so an inner-city neighborhood that was formerly 8% white that is now 20% white is less diverse? I guess adding white people to a non-white area doesn't count as diversity.

That's because you can't use the technical definition of "diversity", meaning a relatively equal mix of several types. You have to use the PC definition of "diversity", which means less White people. That's why a 95% Black neighborhood is "diverse" to some, when it is as homogeneous as a 95% White neighborhood.

[mSeattle]

???

[Owlhorn]

Dallas is one of these places. Dallas proper is very white, hispanic or black and most neigbhorhoods are pretty segregated except for the most urban areas. But the suburbs, especially the inner ring, are where you see a huge diversity of immigrant populations. People often come to Dallas and ask where the the good "ethnic" food is. Outside of Mexican in East Dallas, Soul Food in South Dallas and Korean in NW Dallas, you're going to find the best Indian or Pakistani in Richardson or Irving, Iranian in Richardson, most southeast Asian or West African in Garland or Richardson. Most Eastern European in Arlington. This is where you find the populations and cultural centers as well.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by Owlhorn

Dallas is one of these places. Dallas proper is very white, hispanic or black and most neigbhorhoods are pretty segregated except for the most urban areas. But the suburbs, especially the inner ring, are where you see a huge diversity of immigrant populations. People often come to Dallas and ask where the the good "ethnic" food is. Outside of Mexican in East Dallas, Soul Food in South Dallas and Korean in NW Dallas, you're going to find the best Indian or Pakistani in Richardson or Irving, Iranian in Richardson, most southeast Asian or West African in Garland or Richardson. Most Eastern European in Arlington. This is where you find the populations and cultural centers as well.

Switch out the geography of the suburbs and the particular ethnicities and cuisine found in each, and this sounds likes a carbon copy of Atlanta.

[Hayward]

Originally Posted by MostlyHarmless

Who the hell can afford the city these days? I consider myself well off (not rich by any means, but not struggling) and I can barely afford my neighborhood. The upper class suburbs will stay the same, but everything else will mix...the city is quickly becoming home to only the well-to-do.


We all know whites offer nothing in terms of diversity. :-p If we had it our way everything would be Target, CVS, Starbucks, and Chipotle.

Seriously though, the gentrified areas of Chicago (aka, white) have sadly lost everything that made them awesome to begin with. Every neighborhood is starting to look the same now. Such is the way of gentrification.

This is 100% true

[CyberEric]

This seems to be the case in London and Paris as well, with racial "diversity" (the PC definition) being highest outside of the center.

[dgreen]

Foodies have observed for years that the best "ethnic" restaurants are in the suburbs. The main theory developed to explain this observation is that the best ethnic restaurants tend to be non-chains opened by immigrants. Since rents are much, much cheaper in the suburbs, these immigrants choose some random strip mall for their Pollo ala Brasa, Korean bbq, or Ethiopian establishment.

Your best fine dining, steak houses, and french restaurants will probably be in higher rent districts. But, for some killer pad thai, you need to get away from downtown areas.

[Hayward]

Originally Posted by dgreen

Foodies have observed for years that the best "ethnic" restaurants are in the suburbs. The main theory developed to explain this observation is that the best ethnic restaurants tend to be non-chains opened by immigrants. Since rents are much, much cheaper in the suburbs, these immigrants choose some random strip mall for their Pollo ala Brasa, Korean bbq, or Ethiopian establishment.

Your best fine dining, steak houses, and french restaurants will probably be in higher rent districts. But, for some killer pad thai, you need to get away from downtown areas.

That's why I also reel at the sight of some old commercial building torn down for something more modern. The obsolescence of the former spaces are why rents were cheap and provided a unique venue that is unlike the architectural template of chains.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by CyberEric

This seems to be the case in London and Paris as well, with racial "diversity" (the PC definition) being highest outside of the center.

Some core neighborhoods of both have massive numbers of tourists from all over the world...as well as nearby, and nearby states (in the national sense) speak other languages.

[MostlyHarmless]

Originally Posted by mhays

A city of three million in a nine million metro is all well-to-do? First, you're omitting the poor parts. Second, your definition of "well to do" seems very broad.

You can't seriously think I meant our entire 9 million metro area is well-to-do?

Originally Posted by dgreen

Foodies have observed for years that the best "ethnic" restaurants are in the suburbs. The main theory developed to explain this observation is that the best ethnic restaurants tend to be non-chains opened by immigrants. Since rents are much, much cheaper in the suburbs, these immigrants choose some random strip mall for their Pollo ala Brasa, Korean bbq, or Ethiopian establishment.

Your best fine dining, steak houses, and french restaurants will probably be in higher rent districts. But, for some killer pad thai, you need to get away from downtown areas.

There's a lot of truth to this. The best Mexican food I've had in the US was in some random strip mall in Aurora IL. Aurora! They didn't even speak English in there and I had to use my 2 years of Spanish classes from 10 years ago to get my order in. Haha, well worth it. There's a lot of good gems in the burbs, but it's a major turn off (at least for me) to GET to them. I prefer the clustering and ease of access within the city over the suburbs.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by mSeattle

???

Maybe the poor whites arriving in the 1890's who lived in the cities worked hard and eventually they or their children got enough money to move to the suburbs and own their own homes, join country clubs, drive Mercedes, etc. Then minorities moved into the cities, got rich and did the same. They were followed by new waves of minorities who did the same. Hopefully the down-market whites who are now moving into the cities will have the same drive and balls that their parents and grandparents and two generations of minorities did. But I doubt it.

[phillyaggie]

I feel lucky to live in a city where this trend hasn't quite fully turned on...yet. I'm talking about Philadelphia.

Philly, the city proper, is still a city of various neighborhoods, and it is still fairly affordable and lately (in the past decade or so) has attracted a lot of immigrants from various backgrounds who haven't skipped the city altogether to go and plant themselves in the 'burbs...partly because many of Philly's 'burbs are some of the richest and most exclusive (thinking of Main Line and places in Lower Bucks, but also several towns in southern NJ).

Whatever the reasons may be, Philly's city-proper is home to some really awesome Vietnamese Pho; German and Polish meat-centric places; Polish and Russian specialty grocery stores that have old world specials that are hard to find pretty much anywhere else; Thai food; Indian food (although many really good Indian eateries are indeed out in the 'burbs); Korean; Chinese; Japanese; Mexican; Ethiopian and other African; etc.

Philly's food scene has grown so much in depth and intensity over the last few years, and I think a lot of it has to do with immigrants and NYCers (Puerto Ricans and Dominicans moving 100 miles south after getting tired of NYC expense) moving here and finding a very walkable, livable, and relatively cheap place to live, run a business, perhaps start families.

Even neighborhoods that have been gentrified in Philly, you find good ethnic restaurants.

I can only hope that Philly remains relatively shielded from the uber-gentrification occurring in other "hip" and "cool" cities. I do also hope that Philly can get a grip on its violent crime problem and its pathetic public schools.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by MostlyHarmless

You can't seriously think I meant our entire 9 million metro area is well-to-do?

Read my sentence again. I said the three million, not the nine million.

You said "the city is quickly becoming home to only the well-to-do." Obviously wrong given the huge areas of poverty.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by pesto

Maybe the poor whites arriving in the 1890's who lived in the cities worked hard and eventually they or their children got enough money to move to the suburbs and own their own homes, join country clubs, drive Mercedes, etc. Then minorities moved into the cities, got rich and did the same. They were followed by new waves of minorities who did the same. Hopefully the down-market whites who are now moving into the cities will have the same drive and balls that their parents and grandparents and two generations of minorities did. But I doubt it.

"Down market" people are moving into cities? In any place that's gentrifying or growing, it's usually the people with decent incomes, as well as students etc. doubling up.