US inner cities booming as young adults shun suburbs

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by donnaaries

People who think this trend is temporary are the disillusioned ones. Trends that are happening that cannot be denied:

1. Energy (fuel and electricity) will get more expensive as demand grows and supply decreases (you're also competing with China and India on this front). A) People will not want to spend that much of their income just on transportation. B) People will not want to spend that much of their income on energy to cool/heat their homes (larger suburban homes cost more in energy than smaller in-town homes).

2. As the % of dual-income families grow, the one commodity no one can increase is their time. Thus, commute time, time spent maintaining a larger house with a larger yard, etc, will all become even more undesirable than it is now. The trend of dual-income couples "contracting out" house work such as child care, lawn care, personal errands, will fuel the desire for community services such as community parks instead of large yards, community pools instead of backyard pools. In short, people want access to these things, but they don't want to spend time maintaining them.

3. The street networks in the garden style cul-de-sac neighborhoods are simply unsustainable. They discourage pedestrian activity, encourage faster driving speeds, decrease access.

These things aren't changing any time soon.

Kinda ironic.

Your Crestview neighborhood was the northernmost suburb of Austin when my brother bought his first house on Piedmont in 1959. The Minimax grocery strip center was the only shopping for a couple miles. lol

Northwest Park over off Burnet was the closest park, IIRC.

[donnaaries]

ScoPro, I'm not anti-suburb. As metropolitan populations grow, there's no doubt that exurbs may become suburbs, and suburbs may become close-in suburbs, and so on and so forth. Otherwise there's no space to house the population growth. I didn't say you have to live in Crestview (which isn't even as dense as other Austin neighborhoods say Hyde Park), I simply believe in smart growth. If you're going to establish new communities, make sure it's not just a bedroom community. Clearly with the jobs in north Austin, there's reason why north Austin and closeby suburbs are just as attractive for some commuters.

[ScoPro]

I agree, and that's why I thought it was not a bad thing when Dell moved to Round Rock. It obviously took a lot of possible congestion from downtown/north Austin and put it up our way.

Although I do get nostagic for the old Chief Drive-in on Lamar and the Burnet Drive in on Burnet....not to mention the Delwood and the Longhorn:

Drive-ins.com - Drive-In Theater Search

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

The article in the original post says:

"Economists estimate the trend is temporary. "

It cites young singles. Many of these barely employed singles will eventually get a real job, may get married, may have children, etc. and will get tired of having a roommate in a small place. And walking to nightlife may lose the appeal it has now. So who knows what the trend will be in ten years.

I think a young family will eventually leave the inner city if:

1. the public schools are not good enough
2. the young family doesn't have enough money to send their kids to private schools
3. or they have to commute to a job outside the city

Agreed.

And I think the "urban experience" is clearly following the boomer to the burbs. A prime example is 78749, where you can live in a decent, comfortable family home for $100-$130 per sqft, and have all of the "urban" amenities that were once only found downtown a short drive away. And if you want a downtown vibe, you can drive downtown in 15 minutes, but why bother anymore?

You now have Whole foods, but with a Costco next door. Sweet. P-Terry's, Kerby Lane Cafe, Alamo Draft House. It's all there. Satellite Cafe is the Circle C iteration of "Flip's Satellite Cafe" that was in Oak Hill and which sprung from that grungy little coffee house "Flips" on Barton Springs. Satellite could be called "Flips for Boomers", as it's a grown up responsible version of its origin.

Families will never quit buying homes where the schools are good and will never quit avoiding areas where the schools are not good. And in the central areas like Zilker that have good elementary schools, many families bail out before middle school. We actually bailed out of Travis Heights before kindergarten in the 1990s.

Steve

[Gingersnap92]

Responsible people have to bail for the suburbs because they have no choice right? Way to help move the herd by reinforcing such a socially irresponsible attitude. If we're successful, we can segregate this town just like all the other cities in the U.S. Let's cluster the good and the bad together. We don't need free-thinking and initiative. All we need to know is where the white people are moving and reinforce it to the overall detriment of society.

Riddle me this mr Austin - what caused families to move into these areas before the schools existed? What happens when these 1000 square foot rat traps fall apart on the tenants inside? Will the cold comfort of knowing they are in an area with good schools help them?

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by Gingersnap92

Responsible people have to bail for the suburbs because they have no choice right? Way to help move the herd by reinforcing such a socially irresponsible attitude. If we're successful, we can segregate this town just like all the other cities in the U.S. Let's cluster the good and the bad together. We don't need free-thinking and initiative. All we need to know is where the white people are moving and reinforce it to the overall detriment of society.

Riddle me this mr Austin - what caused families to move into these areas before the schools existed? What happens when these 1000 square foot rat traps fall apart on the tenants inside? Will the cold comfort of knowing they are in an area with good schools help them?

Can you say what you mean more succinctly? I think you're making some sort of value judgement but it's not clear.