CityLab Daily: Are Americans Really Fleeing to the Suburbs?

Keep up with the most pressing, interesting, and important city stories of the day. Sign up for the CityLab Daily newsletter here.

***

What We’re Following

Hold your horses: When the Census Bureau releases its municipal population estimates each spring, a kind of Urbanist Derby follows, with quick takes on America’s city vs. suburb horserace based on which places are growing and shrinking. This year, many observers thought the suburbs came out with an advantage, as they grew faster in population than central cities did.

But those basic comparisons don’t tell the whole story about where people want to live. The suburbs are growing because they're building housing. But at the same time, people are still willing to pay more to live in cities. CityObservatory’s Joe Cortright argues the triumph of the suburbs might not be because Americans desire suburban living, but because we don’t have enough of the cities people want. On CityLab: Are Americans Fleeing Cities for Suburbs? Not So Fast.

Not ready for primetime: Remember Seattle’s new “Amazon tax” we told you about yesterday? Well, it might already be on its deathbed.

—Andrew Small

More on CityLab

This Little Light

If you zoom way, way out, the possibilities for U.S.-North Korea negotiations look a little brighter. As our friends at Quartz point out, this satellite photo from NASA’s Earth Observatory in 2014 uses city lights to illuminate the economic stakes for North Korea. Just compare the light shining from the two Korean capitals: Seoul lights up with 25.6 million people in its metro area, while Pyongyang, with 3.2 million, is just a tiny fleck of light.

NASA notes that the per capita power consumption in the two countries is stark: South Korea consumes about 10,162 kilowatts for each person, compared to just 739 kilowatts for each North Korean. If North Korea opens up, this picture could look very different in just a few years’ time. ICYMI: A Plan to Modernize North Korea’s Trains Could Be a Real Game-Changer

What We’re Reading

Los Angeles is doing water better than your city (Wired)

New York City Housing Authority, accused of endangering residents, agrees to oversight (New York Times)

Sidewalks don’t have to be garbage dumps (Streetsblog)

Startups have spun an incomplete narrative about the future of work (Quartz)

Tell your friends about the CityLab Daily! Forward this newsletter to someone who loves cities and encourage them to subscribe. Send your own comments, feedback, and tips to hello@citylab.com.