Urban growth eclipses suburban growth

WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) -- More U.S. cities are growing faster than their suburbs, showing a mind change about city living and the effect of the housing bust, U.S. Census data indicate.

Census data released Thursday indicated that growth of city centers in 27 of the nation's 51 largest metropolitan areas outpaced their suburbs between July 2010 and July 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported. By comparison, only five metro areas grew faster than their suburbs from 2000 to 2010, data showed.

U.S. suburbs have grown faster than city centers every decade since the 1920s, when increased automobile ownership prompted city-dwellers to migrate to the suburbs, William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, told the Journal.

One reason for the shift could be improvement in quality-of-life issues that prompted residents head to the suburbs, the Journal said. Crime rates have fallen in some urban centers, environmental conditions have improved and once-stagnant downtowns have become more vibrant.

Data indicated Washington's core was growing fast and is experiencing an apartment boom while suburban development fell below pre-recession levels, the Journal said. From July 2010 to July 2011 Washington's urban population grew 2.4 percent; its suburbs 1.5 percent.

In the near term, however, living in the cities could stem from the recession and housing bust because city renters either were concerned about buying in the suburbs or couldn't qualify for home loans, Kenneth Johnson, senior demographer at the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire, told the Journal. As the economy and housing markets continue to settle, more city-dwellers may move to the 'burbs, he said.

"I suspect the modest growth of the urban cores is a short-term phenomenon," Johnson said.