Archive Report
Archive Report
Whites' Return to the Cities
Economic Impetus for City Transformation
Scars of neglect are still very much in evidence in most American cities. Houses in many urban neighborhoods are rundown, apartments are overcrowded, and unemployment and crime rates remain high. However, important changes are also occurring. The so-called “white flight” to the suburbs that began after World War II and reached its peak during the 1960s has slowed considerably in recent years and in some cases has been reversed. Old inner-city neighborhoods that once were the object of social and political rejection have become highly desirable both as real estate investments and places to live.
Little by little, the middle class is returning to the nation's long-neglected urban centers. While precise national data on central city reinvestment ...