The Suburban Slum Era Has Arrived
It's been apparent for a number of years now that—due to widespread demographic and economic trends—the suburbs, once the idyllic home to upper middle class members and aspirants, are becoming the new slums. How's that trend developing? Just fine, thank you.
Sabrina Tavernise ventures into the suburbs and reports back: that shit is all fucked up now. Most urban poor people are in the burbs now. Suburban poverty's up by more than 50% in the past decade. Adios, scary inner city. Hello, scary outer city.
Since 2000, the poverty roll has increased by five million in the suburbs, with large rises in metropolitan areas as different as Colorado Springs and Greensboro, N.C... Nationwide, 55 percent of the poor population in metropolitan areas is now in the suburbs, up from 49 percent.
At least it's somewhat comforting that the suburbs now suck for the kinds of concrete, measurable reasons that go in rap music lyrics, rather than for the vague, sentimental reasons that go in alternative music lyrics.
