Cities Outpacing Suburbs in Population Growth

For the first time since the 1920s, cities are outpacing suburbs in population growth. Census data released on Thursday indicates that between 2010 and 2011, urban centers in 27 of the nation’s 51 largest metropolitan areas grew faster than their surrounding suburbs. According to USA Today, several key factors—including easier access to public transportation, “a redefinition of lifestyle that places a premium on urban amenities,” and the housing bust—are causing the recent reversal of suburban sprawl. Those suburbs that have remained strong—the “boombergs”—have provided their residents with easy access to rail transportation, a trait more common to densely populated cities. Urban renewal has been further aided by increased quality of living in cities and factories migrating from urban to suburban and rural areas. The Wall Street Journal also notes that “young, affluent renters are fed up with suburban traffic and are drawn to revitalizing downtowns,” complementing CEOs for Cities’ The Young and Restless report, which concluded that since 2000, the number of college-educated 25 to 34 year-olds has increased twice as fast in the close-in neighborhoods of the nation’s largest cities as in the less dense metropolitan areas.