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But those are pop culture songs, not numbers. Many of them were "counterculture" as in opposing the general culture of the time. There was a massive flight out of cities at the time whatever pop culture said. A generation before, the idea of "staying in the city" as a movement would make no sense, most metro residents lived in the city.
Do songs not reflect what's going on? Do the songs of the late 60s not reflect the anti-war sentiment that was going on then?
Not sure which generation you're talking about. The WW II vets are the ones who moved to the burbs en masse. Like all generations, we Boomers didn't want to be like our parents. However, living in "the city" didn't work for us. It took a generation for the city to adapt.
Do songs not reflect what's going on? Do the songs of the late 60s not reflect the anti-war sentiment that was going on then?
A certain segment and maybe feelings, but not necessarily what the average person is doing.
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Not sure which generation you're talking about. The WW II vets are the ones who moved to the burbs en masse. Like all generations, we Boomers didn't want to be like our parents. However, living in "the city" didn't work for us. It took a generation for the city to adapt.
Maybe it depends on the city, but flight out of the city continued into the 70s and 80s. The WW II vets were start of mass flight to the burbs but not the only ones. As I said, I know plenty more of my parent's generation that left the city than the reverse. Many people I knew I grew up with had grandparents in the city, their grandparents are of the WWII generation, it must have been their parents that moved to the burbs. I guess you'd have to check who was leaving.
You don't know what you don't know. When I was young, my Boomer friends and I were all living in "the city". And how you can characterize whole generations, three of them, Boomers, Gen X and Millenials as all thinking alike is beyond me. The only thing these generations have all in common is being born in the same time frame. This issue is as old as time. The City Mouse and the Country Mouse
The cities decayed consistently and dramatically throughout the period of the Boomers. They moved to the suburbs in vast numbers and from an early age and this is not remotely debatable.
The shift of GenX and Millennials is as radical a rejection and departure from the so called Greatest Generation and Boomers who are entirely to blame for the neglect and decay of urban America for two generations.
There isn't going to be a mass exodus of Millennials to the suburbs for the simple reason that they don't like them. They like cities and cities get better and better with each passing year.
several things I note as likely. Since boomers consist of a large number and other groups are less; its like for some moderation of urban growth as they in some number no longer have to live where they work. Second is that a lot of building for residence will be multi family has even the government policy is to get back to near historical levels of 65% home ownership. Also has federal spending in matching grants is reduced many city of all size are likely to stop so much public property growth .One thing noted is that Detroit was a example of huge growth in such properties in its time and now the expense of upkeep is hard to maintain just as cities will find in the future. Also many cities with a large military presents will be see less money brought into area from that. Many smaller towns may benefit as more boomers move in not needing a job in retirement also. That is one thing I see happening already is the rebirth of a lot of smaller towns as favorite retirement areas with the infrastructure to support it and even a lot of younger people workers in areas such as medical.
The cities decayed consistently and dramatically throughout the period of the Boomers. They moved to the suburbs in vast numbers and from an early age and this is not remotely debatable.
The shift of GenX and Millennials is as radical a rejection and departure from the so called Greatest Generation and Boomers who are entirely to blame for the neglect and decay of urban America for two generations.
There isn't going to be a mass exodus of Millennials to the suburbs for the simple reason that they don't like them. They like cities and cities get better and better with each passing year.
Since the "Millenials" cover people born from 1982 until some time in the 2000s, let's say 2002 for these purposes, that is about 30 million people. You presume to speak for all of them? The oldest of them are just now starting to buy houses. Most that I know buy in the burbs. The youngest aren't even in high school yet.
Since the "Millenials" cover people born from 1982 until some time in the 2000s, let's say 2002 for these purposes, that is about 30 million people. You presume to speak for all of them? The oldest of them are just now starting to buy houses. Most that I know buy in the burbs. The youngest aren't even in high school yet.
I don't speak for anyone - I merely observe what they are doing. They are moving to the cities in large numbers. There preference is for urbanism, they disdain auto-dependency. The prefer walkable, bikeable, vibrant communities. They are voting with their feet and their pocket books and trends are unmistakable.
I don't speak for anyone - I merely observe what they are doing. They are moving to the cities in large numbers. There preference is for urbanism, they disdain auto-dependency. The prefer walkable, bikeable, vibrant communities. They are voting with their feet and their pocket books and trends are unmistakable.
Large numbers? Well, that's something you can document. Please do.
As the demographics of the population changes, the mix of preferred living arrangements will also change. One of those demographic trends is a decrease in household size. Young people are putting off marriage and starting families later than previous generations. Boomers are becoming empty nesters. Those changes bode well for future growth of central cities that are attractive, amenity-rich, and perceived as safe.
At least here in Amazonia (aka Seattle) young people ARE moving to centrally-located neighborhoods in droves. Despite fears of overbuilding, rents continue to climb and affordability remains a big problem.
On the other hand, while there has been a bit of an uptick in Seattle's public school enrollment, growth in the suburban school districts is still greater.
So that raises a couple of questions. Are young people moving to places like Seattle because of their urban vibrancy or just to be near their jobs (or to a greater or lesser extent, both)? And for those who start families, will they stay in the central city once they have school-age children?
Note, that's not really millennials, but it's the norm for 20/30-somethings to flock to cities and then flock right out as 30/40-somethings when they start getting married, having kids, buying houses, settling down. We're still at the very, very beginning of any trend that might emerge that millennials do anything different. It's anticipated that it will, and city planners are betting on it happening. You're seeing a lot more emphasis on parks, schools, encouraging a family-friendly environment than you saw ten years ago when it was nightlife, nightlife, nightlife, and more nightlife. We're an even larger demographic than boomers and just entering the age where we're looking at settling down and having kids.
Personally, my prediction is that millennials will stay in the cities longer and in greater numbers, but it won't be a radical shift. I think you'll see something like 5% more millennials stay in the urban core than you would expect historically. Still, that's a huge number given there's roughly 80 million millennials (depending where you draw the lines in the sand). The majority will still prefer the suburbs, however.
I'll say that we can't underestimate the interest in cities by empty nesters. Here in Syracuse, I was observing the people at the Downtown Living Tour and it seemed like many were older folks. Downtown Syracuse's residential occupancy is at 99%, with more housing being developed. So, the interest is there in many cities of various sizes and by people of various ages. Home » Downtown Committee of Syracuse
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