Future of the City

Report Outline
Contradictions of New Skylines and Old Blight
Growth and Problems of Urban America
Proposals for Cities of the Future
Special Focus

Contradictions of New Skylines and Old Blight

For at least two decades, experts have been saying that the core of the American urban complex, the inner city, is sick and may be dying. They may be right, for there is evidence almost everywhere—in city crime, poverty, congestion, pollution, racial polarity, and declining services to support that view. And yet, the urban situation is filled with contradictions that make prophecy hazardous.

Gleaming new buildings are changing the downtown skyline of American cities where signs of business vitality were so notably lacking only a few years ago. The Wall Street Journal reported on July 16 that “downtown hotels are being built at a faster clip than at any time since the Depression.” Glittering shopping malls are no longer the exclusive property of the suburbs. Philadelphia's Society Hill and Washington's Capitol Hill afford two examples of once fashionable residential districts that degenerated into near-slum areas only to become fashionable again.

Are these transformations a sign of lasting change, or do they remain anomalies? A few voices, often those of civic leaders, are saying the city is actually making a comeback. Others perceive the matter differently. They note that the return to the central city is for the most part limited to the young and adventuresome, and those able to afford the few safe, luxury neighborhoods.