America's urban problem - America's race problem

Two factors - sprawl and race - are shaping urban America. Through annexation or city-county consolidation, "elastic cities" capture new suburban development. Elastic cities have growing populations. stronger tax bases, and better fiscal health than growth-constrained "inelastic cities." However. the concentration of low-income minorities, which is greatest in inelastic cities, is the basis for major disparities between cities and many surrounding suburbs. Even highly inelastic cities in "White America" maintain virtual economic parity with their suburbs. For many central cities, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest, annexation and city-consolidation are no longer legally or politically feasible. Allied with older, declining suburbs, cities must form new political alliances to get the federal government and, in particular, state governments to change the "rules of the game" regarding regional development. Key policy reforms are regional land use planning and growth management laws, regional tax base or revenue sharing, and regional "fair share" affordable housing laws.