The Homogenous City
Posted on June 21st, 2006 in musings and
A recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer sheds light on a difficult social problem in the revitalization of cities like Philadelphia:
Now, with a booming downtown feeding rising home prices, it appears the pendulum is swinging back in favor of the City of Brotherly Love. For things to stay that way, the city has work to do. Because its most vibrant, productive and innovative citizens, so-called creative workers, are very much sought after elsewhere.
Throughout history cities have always been important centers for creative activity and innovation. They have also, especially in the wake of the industrial revolution, been incredibly claustrophobic and harsh environments to inhabit. In post-World War II America, the construction industry and lending institutions lobbied hard for the federal Housing Act of 1949, which paved the way–literally–for the mass exodus from the cities into the suburban “American Dream” of unprecedented consumer debt and subdevelopments littered with single-family detached houses. Meanwhile, those who could not afford, or did not want, to leave the cities suffered through the deterioration of the American cities, as long-established industries and their jobs left the towns, the energy crisis of the ’70s drained their resources, and the dissipating tax-base translated into paltry public services and zero amenities for citizens.
Richard Florida’s “creative economy” powered by his “creative class”–of which I am a member, no doubt–is certainly an important component in the revitalization of our great American cities, as it brings in much-needed investment and energy. But left unchecked, this upper-middle class influx of wealth and investment disenfranchises the very backbone of our cities: the folks who have managed to stay put throughout the worst of times when cities were not such inspiring places to live. Special care must be taken to insure that our long-time neighbors, who often may not choose whether to stay or to go, are brought along this “creative” adventure in urban living through such programs as inclusionary zoning, subsidized, mixed-income housing, intensive education and job-training programs, and the like. Without these economically diverse neighbors living side-by-side with us, we face the prospect of the Homogenous City, a deceptively classless mass of cafe lattes, white earbuds, and excessively priced condos.
