U.S. suburbanization and gentrification

Soc 331Population and Society

07.15.2009

Factors that influence urban development Technology

Transportation, building construction, communication Organizational network of the community

Realtors, government, citizen associations Resource availability

Energy (fuel), land supply, income levels Population growth Individual values (U.S. desire for single family homes) Institutional structure of society

U.S. Capitalist System vs. kinship or familial systems

Role of transportation Walking (pre-1880s); 2-3 mph

Face to face communication, small but high density, little separation between home and work

Electric Street Car (1880-1920); 10-15 mph Speeds up travel and focuses activity toward city

center, some activities begin to disperse Automobile (1920-present); 25-40+ mph

Lower density, “multiple nuclei” Social class theory

Where have all the street cars gone? Increased transportation adds an element of

geographic flexibility The process of suburbanization was sped

along by the removal of streetcars in favor of automobiles

Automobile manufacturers and tire companies bought local trail lines, dismantled them and replaced them with gasoline powered buses

Seattle street car

The rise of the automobile and demise of public transit By 1990 in the U.S. 73% of all workers got to

work by driving in their automobile while an additional 13% carpooled

More people walked to work (6%) than took public transportation (5%) (1990 Census)

An accounting of Suburbanization Thought of as relatively new

1899 - Adna Weber noted than American cities were beginning to suburbanize

Really took off in the 1920s Until 1960s continued unabated

1. American desire for less dense space2. Ability to obtain that space

Increasing wealth Availability of automobile/highway transit

Trends in U.S. suburbanization Westward expansion

Karsada (1995) - in 1960 25% of all Fortune 500 firms were located in NYC, in 1990 it declined to 8%

Moving to sunbelt cities and not to city centers Near to highways and regional airports More people now commute from suburb to suburb

than commute to the city center Edge cities Center city deterioration?

A sign of the times?

Explaining Suburbanization Natural Evolution Theory (“Pull”)

“Natural” working of housing market Preference for large single-family lots Decentralization of the city is followed by employment

decentralization (serves to reinforce suburbanization process) Can have deleterious implications for city residents

Fiscal/Social Problems of Central Cities (“Push”) High taxes, poor quality schools, racial tension, crime,

congestion cause affluent to migrate which leads to further deterioration

Gentrification Influx of businesses and individuals with generally

higher SES settling in a an area with relatively lower SES Some add “displacement” to the definition - Also elements

of “improvement” Baby boom generation grew up in the suburbs to a greater

extent than any previous cohort Began to purchase and renovate cheap housing in older

parts of central cities White and upwardly mobile so linked to the gentry moving

back to the city

Impacts of gentrification Shift of rental property to owned housing Increase in existing rents Decrease in integration “Urban revitalization” Shifting populations Neighborhood turnover

Explanations (London, Lee & Lipton 1986) Demographics

Baby Boom Childless couples (less space and more income)

Ecological Industry replaced by corporation

Socio-cultural “pro-urban”, “urbanicity” is hip

Political/Economical Increase in transit, desegregation, market interaction