Perspective
Why We Must Save Small Black Cities
Some urbanists believe large cities should subsume the small black cities in their orbit. But that won’t erase a legacy of discrimination.
Can less populated cities on the outskirts of larger metropolitan areas be too small to succeed? Are urban municipalities with fewer than 100,000 people vestiges of a bygone era? Should small “inner-ring” cities even exist? These questions are being posed with greater frequency across the country.
“Merger with the central city is an option more physically contiguous inner-ring suburbs should consider,” writes Aaron Renn, a researcher at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Journalist Eduardo Porter, commenting on small cities’ struggles to adapt to economic shifts, writes, “As technology continues to make inroads into the economy … it bodes ill for the future of such areas.”