TheAtlantic.com: The Next Slum?

TheAtlantic.com: The Next Slum?

Will future slums be in the suburbs as the affluent move back to walkable urban centers? "The experience of cities during the 1950s through the '80s suggests that the fate of many single-family homes on the metropolitan fringes will be resale, at rock-bottom prices, to lower-income families--and in all likelihood, eventual conversion to apartments. This future is not likely to wear well on suburban housing. Many of the inner-city neighborhoods that began their decline in the 1960s consisted of sturdily built, turn-of-the-century row houses, tough enough to withstand being broken up into apartments, and requiring relatively little upkeep. By comparison, modern suburban houses, even high-end McMansions, are cheaply built." This has already been happening in Tulsa.