The trend of Black Americans leaving urban areas for suburban communities mirrors the White Flight of the mid-20th century but for vastly different reasons and with vastly different consequences.
Sophia Tareen writes for the Associated Press (via the Los Angeles Times) about the continuing migration of Black Americans around the country. In the contemporary version of this story, Black Americans are moving away from cities into the suburbs.
The article starts with anecdotes from Chicago, but notes that the trend is echoed around the country. Tareen cites 2020 Census data to show how Black out-migration from urban areas has persisted over the past decade.
For more background on how this story has played out over the years, see some of the articles in Planetizen's archive in addition to the source article, linked below.
- The 'Crisis of Non-Replacement' Undermining Black Neighborhoods (May 2021)
- Black Californians Leaving the City and Reshaping the States (July 2020)
- No Slowdown of Out-Migration of Black Residents from Chicago (March 2020)
- Gentrification and Race in the San Francisco Bay Area (August 2019)
- Whites Moving Into Black Neighborhoods Tip the Scales in Problematic Ways (May 2019)
- Bay Area Displacement and Gentrification Trends Have Regional Consequences (October 2018)
- When Whites Return to the Black Neighborhoods They Fled (November 2017)
- Two Types of Black Suburbanization (January 2016)
FULL STORY: Black population continues to grow in suburbs and shrink in cities across the U.S.
What We Really Mean When We Say Gentrification
The focus on gentrifying communities has, in many cases, eclipsed the similar problems facing more stagnant neighborhoods.
More Evidence that Decline and Concentrated Poverty Define the Urban Experience
Concern about gentrification in urban areas has dominated the urbanism discussion for more than a decade now, at the expense of a more informed understanding of urban dynamics and the potential for more effective action.
Revitalization Should Not Overshadow the Continued Decline in Cities
When gentrification takes center stage, neglected places facing poverty, segregation, and disinvestment are overlooked.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association