How the Suburbs Gave Birth to America's Most Diverse Neighborhoods

Despite the stereotypes, suburban communities are now at the cutting edge of racial, ethnic and even political change in America. Racially integrated suburbs are growing faster than their white counterparts. Diverse suburban neighborhoods now outnumber those in their central cities by more than two to one. Fully 44 percent of suburban residents in the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas live in racially integrated communities, places between 20 and 60 percent non-white.

Integrated suburbs represent some of the nation’s greatest hopes and its gravest challenges. The rapidly growing diversity of the United States, which is reflected in the rapid changes seen in suburban communities, suggests a degree of declining racial bias and at least the partial success of fair housing laws. Yet the fragile demographic stability in these newly integrated suburbs – as well as the rise of poor virtually non-white suburbs – presents serious challenges for local, state and federal governments. Data indicates that policy makers could pay a political price for failing to connect with "swing" voters in these integrated suburban communities: Integrated suburbs are the only places that have nearly equal enrollment in the major political parties.