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.
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Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
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The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association