White flight from the suburbs

Young whites are fleeing the suburbs and are heading into US cities. "Ten states, led by Arizona, surpass the nation in a 'cultural generation gap' in which the senior populations are disproportionately White and children are mostly minority." ~ link

This is descriptive of Laveen (village inside Phoenix), where we live, except that the suburban style housing is so new that the white seniors never had a chance to get established in this area.

When the foreclosure crisis hit the shift accelerated. We now have an area which was designed with owner-occupants in mind but which has become a rental haven.

The owner-occupants who are here are invested in the community -- vocal about schools and children's sports, etc. But my guess, based upon what is happening in my neighborhood, is that most of the people are un-invested renters. Even many of the owner-occupants are hesitant to invest in the community because they are on the verge of losing their houses and they figure they're going to be moving soon anyway.

"A new image of urban America is in the making," said William Frey, a demographer at Brookings who co-wrote the report. "What used to be White flight to the suburbs is turning into 'bright flight' to cities that have become magnets for aspiring young adults who see access to knowledge-based jobs, public transportation and a new city ambience as an attraction."

"This will not be the future for all cities, but this pattern in front-runners like Atlanta, Portland, Oregon, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Austin, Texas, shows that the old urban stereotypes no longer apply," he said.