On March 23, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit partially upheld a fair-housing claim by nonprofits protesting that Nassau County, just east of Queens in New York City, had failed with a recent zoning decision to move forward on fair housing. Evidence from these cases seems to show that in suburbs of New York and Phoenix, governments and neighbors openly zone neighborhoods to banish apartments that could accommodate children. Census Bureau data Kolko cites became public, two federal courts issued zoning-related rulings that suggest a frosty and toxic cause for the low supply of multi-family dwellings in so many suburban towns. (Some of my friends in fact fit this description.) But does that prove they want to live in those settings, or merely that they see no other choice? Families are indeed buying detached houses with yards in places like Maplewood, New Jersey. His firm, WXY, ran some numbers and found that the average number of bedrooms per housing unit in those towns rose between 20, then sank and never recovered to match the nationwide average-even at a time when price pressures sent families fleeing the Big Apple. Right around the same time, the urban planner Adam Lubinsky was also noticing something about multi-family dwellings in suburban towns outside New York City. Another way to see this is that the school-age kids themselves - 6-12 and 13-17 year-olds - were less urban in 2014 than in 2000.” “Even among 25-49 year-olds with four or more years of college, those with kids age six or older were 6% less likely to live in urban neighborhoods in 2014 compared with 2000, and only a bit more likely (2%) to live in higher-density urban neighborhoods. The next week, writing for Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation, Kolko sent the myth of a Millennial generation slavishly devoted to urban living to the mythical land of Ross-and-Rachel.Even among 25-49 year-olds with four or more years of college, those with kids age six or older were 6% less likely to live in urban neighborhoods in 2014 compared with 2000, and only a bit more likely (2%) to live in higher-density urban neighborhoods. The economist Jed Kolko broke down the latest American Community Survey data on CityLab in late March, which showed suburban population gains. And in two recent court decisions on such zoning laws, we can see how this logic additionally seems to discriminate against low-income minorities even to this day.įirst, let’s review the broad data. Many suburban governments in fact zone to curtail the kinds of tallish buildings and retail mix that tend to line vibrant, walkable main streets.
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Young families are settling in the suburbs for sure, but the housing stock they have to choose from often forces the choice: it’s either take fewer bedrooms, or live a lot farther from anything resembling a downtown. In daily life for more families, the scales of where it makes the most sense to live are tipping once again to the cul-de-sac.Īre these decisions matching buyers’ goals, though? Do America’s working young couples-slightly grayer versions of the young adults who eschewed buying cars and flocked to walkable neighborhoods in the wake of the recession-actually want to raise their kids in communities that require them to drive everywhere? That’s less clear. Or, it’s public school struggles that drive parents of young children to the ‘burbs. The motive can come down to simple arithmetic: cities with soaring housing costs are becoming increasingly untenable for families of four or more. More Millennial couples are buying in the suburbs to raise their kids, as pulse-takers like The New York Times have noted.
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So it goes with the kinds of homes Americans buy when they start families. Raise your hand again if you believe Whole Foods or your local grocer stocks dried fruit strips near checkout because its leaders believe they are an ideal grab-and-go snack for a broad range of citizens, and not because they lure a narrow and reliably spendy demographic.
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Now keep your hand raised if you consider dried fruit strips optimal eating.Īnyone? OK, one last question. Raise your hand if, like me, you bought more dried fruit strips in the years after you became a parent, grandparent, or caregiver.