Why It's Harder to Move Up in America's Segregated Cities

Economic mobility – the ability to work hard and get ahead – has long been the cornerstone of the American Dream. But it's becoming harder and harder for Americans to pull themselves up the economic ladder.

An influential report this past summer from Harvard and Berkeley economists at The Equality of Opportunity Project found economic mobility varied widely across the country. Summarizing the key results of the study, the New York Times headline neatly explained: "In climbing income ladder, location matters." Children from post-industrial metros like San Jose, Seattle, or Boston were twice as likely jump from the bottom income quintile to the top as kids growing up in Sunbelt or Midwestern manufacturing cities.