In the last ten years, more than two thirds of poverty growth has happened in suburban areas of American cities. According to Brookings', social services such as transit have failed to keep up in the face of decreasing tax revenue.
In addition, suburbs are simply not setup to deal with increasing levels of poverty because this is such a new problem. Expanding public transit through suburban areas is costly compared to inner city projects. In downtown areas efficiencies of scale 'ensure people will use new rail lines,' but in the suburbs this guarantee almost evaporates.
The lack of public transportation is forcing poor suburbanites to reduce the number of trips taken at a time when they need to be doing the exact opposite to find jobs.
Suburbs need to be realigned "in the fashion of traditional town centers, with walkable connections to surrounding neighborhoods and good transit access."
FULL STORY: As Suburban Poverty Grows, U.S. Fails to Respond Adequately
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