White Flight Article.... (Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Washington: condos, income, work)

[MisterNY]

I was reading an article on the Wall Street Journal, and thought I'd share it with many. Anyone want to share opinions/views about the topic?

The End of White Flight - WSJ.com

[atlantagreg30127]

Interesting article, and largely seems to be accurate at least based on observation, but the results as show in it will vary per city.

Atlanta's White population is increasing for two reasons, one of which was mentioned: 1) More suburbanites are moving closer due to gas prices (mentioned) and 2) It's still a fast growing city, with more Whites and other non-black nationalities moving here than Blacks.

As far as Atlanta's decrease in Black residents, I see it as two reasons: 1) Younger Blacks are leaving after college because Atlanta has long been called the "Black mecca", and they want to see what ELSE is out there..... the NEW meccas. Charlotte, Raleigh, Houston, etc. and 2) Lower income Blacks are being forced out due to construction projects and given rent-assistance vouchers which allow them to move to the suburbs. Hence, the city is getting "Whiter" and the suburbs are getting "Blacker", if you want to say it bluntly.

Atlanta's next Mayorial election MIGHT be shocking - but maybe not. The changes are not happening that quickly. It may take a term or two before the makeup of the city has changed. Before the 1970s, Blacks were largely discouraged with the "good old boy" White system that was in place in the city. Then, more affluent Blacks began to move to the city, and the first Black Mayor was elected. Whites began to leave the city immediately because of it, and for three decades, Atlanta has had a Black majority Government. However, the roles are reversed now. Now more Whites are moving here, and they've seen years of corrupt Black Government in the City, and they are becoming discouraged. Will Clark Howard really run this time? Will he win? Will it be a Hispanic/Latino or Asian who wins?

The next few election and migration years here in Atlanta will indeed be interesting to watch. The other cities in the article will vary because of different reasons for migration and "flight" in those particular areas.

[MMANN]

The article also mentions that Atlanta added 26,000 white residents, but lost only 8,000 blacks. Washington gained 22,000 whites and lost 21,000 blacks. I think the difference here is that although some areas are turning whiter, I think that all the high rise condos in buckhead and midtown are the reason the city is adding all those white residents.

I think that with the price of gas, more people are going to move intown. I think that the 2010 census will record a non-black majority for Atlanta, which will encourage white residents to vote because they will realize that they could decide who was mayor, instead of the black majority.

The next mayor will be black. But after that, there is definately a possibility of a white mayor.

In the 1960's when white flight was happening, Mayor Ivan Allen realized and tried desperately to annex Sandy Springs to keep the city majority white. It didnt work, and Atlanta got is first black mayor in 1973. I wonder if the current political mahcine will try the opposite by annexing areas south of the city to keep the makeup majority black. I also wonder if they are doing anything "under the table" to keep the city majority black.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by MMANN

In the 1960's when white flight was happening, Mayor Ivan Allen realized and tried desperately to annex Sandy Springs to keep the city majority white. It didnt work, and Atlanta got is first black mayor in 1973. I wonder if the current political mahcine will try the opposite by annexing areas south of the city to keep the makeup majority black. I also wonder if they are doing anything "under the table" to keep the city majority black.

Well, the fact is, while many lower-income people don't necessarily take the time to vote, some do. I would think if you were doing things "under the table" to keep a city majority-Black, you wouldn't be tearing down the housing projects to build high-end stuff and kicking those people out into the suburbs with vouchers. The upper-middle and upper-income Blacks are in many almost hidden "pocket suburbs" outside of the city limits. They enjoy the relatively lower crime and nice big yards as much as anyone else, so I don't see how the city will entice them to give up their 2800 square foot home on half an acre, to move intown into an 1100 square foot condo that costs just as much, just to "keep quotas up".

Atlanta used to be a majority-White city. Then it became Majority-Black. My prediction: In a couple of decades, Atlanta will once again be a majority-White city, and other cities that now have lower Black populations will become majority-Black. Everything shifts... sometimes it's a slow change, other times fast. But no city remains the same forever. Demographics will flip-flop back and forth, even if it takes decades for each "flip".

[martarider]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

2) It's still a fast growing city, with more Whites and other non-black nationalities moving here than Blacks.

Where did you get that info? Not doubting you, just curious.

[Frankie117]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Well, the fact is, while many lower-income people don't necessarily take the time to vote, some do. I would think if you were doing things "under the table" to keep a city majority-Black, you wouldn't be tearing down the housing projects to build high-end stuff and kicking those people out into the suburbs with vouchers. The upper-middle and upper-income Blacks are in many almost hidden "pocket suburbs" outside of the city limits. They enjoy the relatively lower crime and nice big yards as much as anyone else, so I don't see how the city will entice them to give up their 2800 square foot home on half an acre, to move intown into an 1100 square foot condo that costs just as much, just to "keep quotas up".

Atlanta used to be a majority-White city. Then it became Majority-Black. My prediction: In a couple of decades, Atlanta will once again be a majority-White city, and other cities that now have lower Black populations will become majority-Black. Everything shifts... sometimes it's a slow change, other times fast. But no city remains the same forever. Demographics will flip-flop back and forth, even if it takes decades for each "flip".

I think a good bit of that comes from the fact that most of the black population in the US is already in the South, and there are not enough of them to sway the statistics. There are black Southerners who move to Atlanta, just like the New Jersey/New Yorker drifters, they are however, a minority. As prices rise in Atlanta proper, we'll see more and more blacks moving away from the city, and more of the "white collar" types moving in closer to be near mass transit, work, etc.

[martarider]

By the way there is a similiar article in the NY Times from 2006:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/11/na...11atlanta.html

But this one talks specifically about Atlanta's shrinking black population

[j0ja]

I believe this change in the racial makeup of Atlanta, which has been going on a while now (over a decade now), is due largely to higher income people (usually those with no kids) wanting to live intown to avoid the horrendous commutes. The NYT article explicitly spells that fact out. It would seem a lot of these in-town-bound people are white, but I am sure they are from a mix of other races as well.

[gt6974a]

I don't see a huge flight back into the city as many people don't work in the city. I work downtown, and my wife in Buckhead. Living downtown for several years, there's no way in Hell, I'm moving back anytime soon.

We want kids and we want a yard, and although I see the schools around here getting worse, we'll definately buy in an area with better schools.

I'm sure more people will continue to move there, but not people with kids. Just doesn't make much sense. Housing costs, house size, crime, etc. I just don't see people with kids, of any age, raising a family there.

Unless you live in one of the n-hoods with indisposable income and private schools, I don't see it as attractive.

[MMANN]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Well, the fact is, while many lower-income people don't necessarily take the time to vote, some do. I would think if you were doing things "under the table" to keep a city majority-Black, you wouldn't be tearing down the housing projects to build high-end stuff and kicking those people out into the suburbs with vouchers.

Its not the mayor or city council tearing down the projects, its the Atlanta Housing Authority. These are two different entities, and the mayor/city council tried to stop the AHA from tearing down those projects, even by writing a letter to the HUD to deny the AHA permits to tear down the projects.