The New Urban Revival in the United States

Urbanisation patterns in the United States have taken some unlikely turns over the past quarter of a century. After following fairly predictable trends in the 1950s and 1960s towards increased urban growth and westward movement, the nation experienced a 1970s 'counter-urbanisation' similar to that which occurred in many other developed countries (Champion, 1989; 1992). In the US, counter-urbanisation was associated with several redistribution reversals that were linked to both metropolitan size and region of the country. In assessing these reversals at great length, Frey and Speare (1988) concluded that the 1970s was a "transition decade" for population redistribution in the US. However, the term 'transition' did not refer as much to the specific geographical patterns of redistribution that had emerged, as it did to the changing social and economic contexts for urban and regional growth. The changing national industrial structure, the rise of the global economy and improvements in communications and production technologies, have changed the geography of opportunities across space and the ability of populations to respond to these changes. At the same time, the diffusion of 'urban' amenities to all parts of the country-including areas previously considered to be remote or rural-has expanded the location options for both employers and residents. More so than in the past, the population and economic growth of regions, metropolitan areas and small places are dependent on how successfully these areas can adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. Despite the realisation that the contexts for urban and regional redistribution had been altered, there was little consensus among scholars as to the form of urbanisation that would emerge in the 1980s and 1990s. With findings from the 1990 US census now in hand, the broad dimensions of the new urbanisation in the US can now be detected. Three of these dimensions appear to be significant and are likely to continue to characterise US urban growth for the next decade. First, there is a return to urbanisation-but not the urbanisation of the 1950s and 1960s. New patterns of urban growth and decline are faster paced. They reflect continuing shifts in industrial structure and favour areas with diversified economies, particularly those engaged in advanced services and knowledge-based industries. Over the 1980s, recreation and retirement centres also did well. However, many small and nonmetropolitan areas, particularly in the interior part of the country, fared poorly under the adverse period influences of the 1980s, and as a result of their dependence on less than competitive industries. Growth prospects for these areas are unstable, at best, unless they can diversify their economic bases. Hence,