Quoted Passages

Below are the passages I quoted in yesterday's class (Tues. 9/16):

First, with regard to the point that economic considerations were among the most important reasons for the trend toward decentralization of cities:
"By about 1950, more and more businesses, particularly in industry and manufacturing, were moving away from the industrial districts of central cities. The costs of refurbishing older buildings were high and, given high rents, expansion wasn't always possible. Further, some new assemblyline procedures required large, low-level structures rather than multistory buildings characteristic of an earlier era. Concerns over rising crime rates, taxes, and traffic congestion also played their part in a proliferation of new 'industrial parks' in the outer urban areas. Workers often moved from the central city to be near their relocated jobs. The result was a growth in suburban population and a decline in central-city population." (p.80)

The Bureau of the Census's definition of MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area):
"...at least one city with 50,000 or more inhabitants, the county or counties containing the city, and any surrounding counties that have a high population density and a large proportion of inhabitants commuting to and from the central city." (p. 82)

In the context of the authors of the text discussion of Sunbelt City Expansion, they made the following important point always seeking to ESCAPE rather than IMPROVE our existing cities or suburbs:
"The pattern is nothing new. Throughout North American history, people have come to cities for the amenities they offered -- jobs, education, the arts, and so on. When the cities become too crowded, a large percentage of people move on to what they perceive as greener pastures -- the suburbs, the Sunbelt, anyplace where the streets are safer, the smog less oppressive, the cost of living lower, the jobs more plentiful. In time, these areas too begin to deteriorate as the 'secret' of more comfortable living gets around and others descend on the area. California and other Sunbelt states are now beginning to experience this declining quality-of-life problem. The question is: Where will we go, now that our older inner suburbs and our Sunbelt cities are experiencing the same deterioration and overload that the Snowbelt cities experienced not so very long ago?"
"Perhaps the answer is not to move at all but rather to attend to the problems of the city as they arise. Perhaps the urban core and all the amenities it has to offer could be salvaged if we were more attentive and less willing to pick up stakes and move the moment difficulties arise." (p. 88)

I have a few more comments about the coming of the Postindustrial City, and then we are going to turn our attention specifically to suburbs and sprawl. Next Tuesday (9/23) we'll see our first video presentation, "Understanding Urban Sprawl," and I may combine that with a little family exercise. See you tomorrow.