Geography 8 Decentralization and Suburbanization Decentralization People leave

Geography 8 Decentralization and Suburbanization

Decentralization • • • People leave Buildings leave Urban activities leave No longer one single center Happens at a national scale – From northeast to sunbelt • Happens within cities – – No longer walkable, compact cities Many centers, many residential areas Big streets—high capacity roads Freeways

The Rise and Fall of Downtown • mid-1800 s – 1920 s – – – Golden Age Pull of PVLI Department Stores Movie Theaters Culture—the Jazz Age • 1930 s-40 s – Sharp decline of downtown – Slight bump post WWII • 1960 s-1990 s – Agglomeration over centrality – Suburbs cheaper for businesses and residences – Near new airports, easy to get to from freeways and interstates. – New building, new construction

Why Decentralization • White Flight – No immigration – Segregated northern cities • Car – – – – Downtowns already “crowded” How to make “room” for cars? Elevated highways “Flyover” on and off-ramps Parking, parking and more parking Downtown as we knew it begins to be eroded away Historic downtown is hollowed out, looks less and less appealing

Suburbs Gain Advantage • • Convenient Newer housing Free parking (and lots of it) Cities go ‘inside-out”

5 Stages of Suburbanization • 1920 s-30 s – Spillover just beyond CBD – Follow rail, light rail lines – Some car corridors • 1940 s-50 s – – • Auto dominant Dispersal Working class bedroom communities Retail clusters, plentiful parking 1960 s-70 s – Period of infill of areas “skipped” in last stage – Some areas experience change in land use • 1980 s – New small downtowns in suburbs with own retail, hotels, – Low rise, big box stores – Tech sector—Microsoft, Silicon Valley • 2000 s – Densification of infill – Rise of Edge cities

Edge Cities • Joel Garreau • Office parks (clusters), stores, housing • 30 years ago were rural places • Accessible by freeway, interstate or airport (on edge) • No longer arrive by train in the city center, now arrive at the edge • What used to cluster at the PVLI now at the edge: hotels, convention centers, retail, entertainment… • Tyson’s Corner, VA • Century City, CA • Wuhan, China