Building a Segregated City: How We All Worked Together

Abstract

The story of American cities is usually told as the story of progressive waves of immigrants, establishing neighborhoods, and adding to the texture of the overall fabric of the city. Since World War II, however, the trend in cities has been one of shrinking population, increased minority (primarily African- American) population in the center city and a circle of wealthier, whiter suburbs on the fringes or outside the city. The modem American city is defined as much by who left as by who stayed. The result is a city which is often segregated, hampered by a weak tax and job base, and characterized by an older and less well-maintained housing stock than the suburbs.