Demography As Destiny?

"There are some experts you treasure," writes David Brooks in The Daily Standard, an online offshoot of The Weekly Standard magazine. "For me, William H. Frey belongs on that list." Frey's article, "Three Americas: The Rising Significance of Regions," will appear in the upcoming Autumn issue of The Journal of the American Planning Association. A demographer and research scientist at the University of Michigan's Population Studies Center, Frey studies how population is shifting within the U.S. In The Daily Standard, Books summarizes the upcoming JAPA article: "The red and blue election map we all saw in 2000 gave us a view of an American regional divide. But in fact, Frey says, there are not two Americas, there are three. First, there is the New Sunbelt. ... Then, Frey says, there are the melting pot states such as California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois. ... Finally there is the heartland." Brooks discusses the three categories and concludes: "In any case, as jobs become more mobile, the country changes more rapidly. William H. Frey is as good a guide as we've got."