Evidence of Central City Revival

Abstract There has been much discussion concerning the likelihood of middle- and upper-income groups choosing to locate near the centers of United States cities. One may find case studies documenting the rejuvenation of central city neighborhoods with a discussion of the factors that tended to bring this rejuvenation about. However, there has been little attempt to integrate this rejuvenation with traditional urban theory. In addition, there has been almost no research that looks at more than a few cities and uses comparable measures that tries to formulate and evaluate a theory of central city residential revival. This article is a step in that direction. It summarizes the author's research in center city revival. Twenty of the largest United States cities were studied to see if there was any positive change in the number of census tracts with middle- and upper-income families living within two miles of the CBD during the 1960s. It was found that a number of the cities did show an increase in the number of such tracts. An analysis of the causal factors follows. Upon completion of this analysis, it was concluded that the centers of the nation's largest cities are not destined for decay but in fact hold potential as the sites of middle- and upper-income neighborhoods.