Density & the Inner Suburbs
The Brookings Institution has a report coming out today that describes the problems faced by older inner suburbs, says the Washington Post. The problem:
'The nation's "first suburbs," which began drawing people out of big cities in large numbers half a century ago, now have deteriorating roads, commercial strips and housing. Those problems, coupled with demographic changes, mean that the communities "are staring down a looming set of challenges that threaten their overall stability," according to the report.'And part of the solution, says the report, is more density:
'Washington's suburbs are dealing with those issues better than most, said researchers at the Brookings Institution, citing Arlington County's policy of promoting dense development near Metro stops as a national model for how to stay vibrant.'The Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech has its own report coming out as well, says the Post, which talks about the changes in political leanings in these areas.
'As Republicans stake claim to votes in outer suburbs, smaller metropolitan areas and rural America, these older, urbanized communities offer new opportunities to Democrats, the report says.
Fairfax County, for example, which includes communities inside the Beltway, voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, the first time it has done so in 40 years.
"The old division of city and suburbs doesn't hold up anymore," said Robert E. Lang, director of the institute. Now, "the more important divide is older and newer suburb."'
posted by Anonymous @ 7:31 AM
2 comments
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2 Comments:
"For decades, center cities of metropolitan areas were regarded as the growth engines of their suburbs. However, this paradigm has been shifting in the past twenty years in Virginia, where suburbs have been growing faster than center cities. Consequently, there is a need in economic development communities to re-evaluate the economic relationship between center cities and their suburbs.......Virginia's cities are no longer the growth engines of their suburbs. The opposite is almost true: suburbs are on the verge of becoming the leaders for city economic growth. ............
Take eleven Virginia metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) as an example. From 1990 to 2004, the average annual employment growth rate for center cities was 0.21 percent, while that of suburbs was 1.76 percent (BLS, 2005)."
Business Economics, Oct 2005.
OK so some suburbs are getting old. So are the cities, which are also decaying. If you don't take care of stuff, it falls apart.
It takes money to take care of stuff. The more stuff you have to take care of, a la dense areas, the more money you need.
What else is new?
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