The impact of decentralization trends, of course, extends well beyond cities.Sprawling development patterns are destabilizing many of the suburbs that surround cities in this country. Older suburbs are experiencing the same challenges as cities:
failing schools, persistent crime, and the loss of jobs and businesses to other, further out suburbs. Even suburban areas that are developing rapidly are finding that explosive growth has its drawbacks, especially in the form. of overcrowded schools,but also in long commutes and the inability of local governments to pay for new roads, sewers, and other infrastructure.
In the wake of decentralizing economies, central cities remain the residence of “choice”for low-and moderate-income families. While poverty has declined in central cities, urban poverty rates are still twice as high as suburban poverty rates, 18.8 percent as against 9.0 percent in 2011 Cities and older suburbs are also
disproportionately home to families whose earnings are above the poverty level, but below median income (national median income is $37,000 a yeas and 200 percent of the poverty for a family of three is $27,000 a year).
The implications of concentrated poverty are severe. People in these neighborhoods often face a triple whammy: poor schools, weak job information networks, and scarce jobs. They are more likely to live in female-headed households and have less formal educations than residents of other neighborhoods.
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