ABSTRACT
America’s urban cores, particularly in our older cities, are in a troubled and declining condition. There is clear evidence of the situation, of the general trends that are at work. For several decades the U.S. population has been moving from urban centers to suburban locations, and the number of citizens living in the suburbs now exceeds the number of citizens living in the cities. Open space surrounding urban centers is rapidly being converted to residential and commercial use, while large tracts of urban housing and commercial property are now vacant, polluted or both. The gap in per capita income between urban residents and suburban residents is growing ever wider, and the crime and unemployment rates in urban areas are growing higher.1 Minority populations in declining urban cores have become more geographically isolated, creating a situation of de facto segregation. As the city tax base declines, municipal governments have less resources to support education, police and other essential services.
