The Changing Spatial Distribution of Social Classes in a Metropolitan Area

This article combines the two central issues in the literature of the geographic dispersal of social classes in a metropolitan area: suburban-central city differences and inter- suburban differences. Utilizing multiple indicators of social class and three census years for Philadelphia, the authors test several models for each of the above two issues. The testing supports the contention that Philadelphia has had a significant resurgence of the upper social classes since 1950, but that this resurgence resides largely in rental housing stock. The indicator of the middle class shows very widespread movement through the metropolitan area, with the lower and upper classes still segregated from each other.