Waubonsee Community College

Cities without suburbs, a Census 2010 perspective, David Rusk

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-188) and index

index present

non fiction

Cities without suburbs

bibliography

833147184

David Rusk

a Census 2010 perspective

Cities without Suburbs, first published in 1993, has influenced analysis of America's cities by city planners, scholars, and citizens alike. David Rusk, the former mayor of Albuquerque, argues that America must end the isolation of the central city from the suburbs if it is to solve its urban problems. Rusk's analysis, extending back to 1950, covers all metropolitan areas in the United States but focuses on the 137 largest metro areas and their principal central cities. He finds that cities that were trapped within old boundaries during the age of sprawl have suffered severe racial segregation and the emergence of an urban underclass; but cities with annexation powers - termed "elastic" by Rusk - have shared in area-wide development. The fourth edition updates Rusk's argument using the 2010 Census and the American Community Survey. It provides new material on the difference between population trends and household trends, the impact of Hispanic immigration, and the potential for city-county consolidation. The fourth edition also brings added emphasis to "elasticity mimics"--A variety of intergovernmental policies that can provide some of the benefits of regional consolidation efforts in situations where annexation and consolidation are impossible

Lessons from urban America: The real city is the total metropolitan area, city and suburb ; Most of America's Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians live in metro areas ; Since World War II, most urban growth has been low density, suburban style ; For a city's population to grow, the city must be elastic ; Almost all metro areas have grown ; Low-density cities can grow through infill, high-density cities cannot ; Elastic cities expand their city limits, inelastic cities do not ; Bad state laws can hobble cities ; Neighbors can trap cities ; Old cities are complacen, ; young cities are ambitious ; Racial prejudice has shaped growth patterns ; Elastic cities "capture" suburban population growth. inelastic cities "contribute" to suburban population growth ; Elastic cities gain population, inelastic cities lose population ; Shrinking household size understates elastic cities' gains while overstating inelastic cities' losses ; Inelastic areas are more segregated than elastic areas ; Major immigration increases Hispanic segregation ; Highly racially segregated regions are also highly economically segregated regions ; Inelastic cities have wide income gaps with their suburbs, elastic cities maintain greater city-suburb balance ; Poverty is more disproportionately concentrated in inelastic cities than in elastic cities ; Little boxes regions foster segregation, big box regions facilitate integration ; Little boxes school districts foster segregation, big box school districts facilitate integration ; Inelastic areas were harder hit by deindustrialization of the American labor market ; Elastic areas had faster rates of nonfactory job creation than did inelastic areas ; Elastic areas showed greater real income gains than inelastic areas ; Elastic cities have better bond ratings than inelastic cities ; Elastic areas have a higher-educated workforce than inelastic areas -- Characteristics of metropolitan areas: The point of (almost) no return ; Cities without suburbs -- Strategies for stretching cities: Three essential regional policies ; Metro government : a definition ; State government's crucial role ; Federal government : leveling the playing field -- Conclusion -- Appendixes : A. Successful city-county consolidations ; B. Potential city-county consolidations