Economy

The Next President's Urban Opportunity

There’s a lot a new administration could do to help America’s cities, with or without Congress.
Work begins on Inaugural stands in front of the White House Nov. 3 in Washington.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

If voting patterns follow population trends, Tuesday’s election will be the most “urban” the United States has ever seen. More people live in America’s cities and metropolitan areas today than ever before. And for the first time since World War II, many U.S. cities are growing at the same rate or faster than their suburbs, which for decades absorbed most of the population growth in metropolitan areas.

The Great Recession caused younger families to delay (or avoid) purchasing homes in the suburbs, and demand for urban amenities has grown as both large employers and small startups have returned to central cities. Demographic changes in coming decades are likely to accelerate the growth of cities, as millennials, aging baby boomers and immigrants increasingly choose to live in urban neighborhoods.