Report says poor are moving to nation’s suburbs – SFGate

Some of my colleagues have been talking about this for years, but it takes time for the data to reflect what people intuitively perceive: that the return to the city by wealthier residents, driven by many factors, has driven out poorer residents to the suburbs. Suburbs are in many cases less equipped to deal with poverty, provide fewer supportive services, such as public transportation. Of course, there are also more opportunities for homeownership, often better public schools, and more jobs. As more data becomes available, on the consequences of this reshaping on local governments (both in central cities & their suburbs), the shape of austerity across the metro area will become much richer.

The number of those in poverty living in suburbs jumped 67 percent between 2000 and 2011, a much larger increase than in cities, researchers for the Brookings Institution said. Suburbs, however, still have a smaller percentage of the poor than cities do.

Read: Report says poor are moving to nation’s suburbs – SFGate.

National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University

Los Angeles Times http://lat.ms/12FKPNm