Census Data Shows A Change In Migration Patterns Between City & Suburbs

Census data show gap closes between city, suburbs

This story fails to capture some of the painful adjustments that have transpired as a confluence of people have been thrown into the same time and space but who live different lifestyles and have differing educational levels which open them up to opportunity.

The results seen in East Atlanta, for example, has been:

• Burglaries and armed robberies of the homes and persons of the new residents as their wealth makes for an ample target
• More aggressive policing against the incumbent residents who fit a certain profile
• A revitalized retail and restaurant & bar line up in certain communities that had been "underserved"
• Feelings of increased marginalization by the incumbent residents as they feel crowded out by the increasing cost of living that such revitalization efforts have triggered 
• "Progressive on Progressive" political battles as the "old guard" civil rights establishment struggles for the same seats of power that the young urban professional upstarts seek to take over

The schools and other social institutions have failed to provide the promised uplift for the people who feel marginalized.
In my observations certain communities where made into "vote harvesting centers".   The poor residents where advocated for to the point that they received certain patronage that was enough to satisfy them.   All the while this leadership failed to develop the necessary "organic competencies" within the community to lift the entire set up one standard deviation on the class and income scale.

The recent run up of the real estate market has left the irony of a housing stock even in the poorest of communities that is refurbished, looking brand new in many instances.  These houses, however, have metal plates over their doors and windows because they are foreclosed properties.  The plates are the new security devices made to prevent copper thieves and those who would steal the appliances and fixtures from gutting the newly refurbished houses.   The attempt was made by the house flippers to put into play housing stock in a community that has residents with fixed or severely low incomes.  Then resulting carnage has the sight of an abundance of empty houses that are now bank owned and individuals under financial stress, in need of housing but lacking the means to occupy the stock of empty homes.

AJC Article

For decades, the suburbs drew people and money — and especially people with money — out of the city of Atlanta. That was then, this is now.

Many communities outside the city, particularly those to the south such as College Park or Clayton County, are struggling to maintain their standard of living, while the city's fortunes have taken a dramatic turn for the better, according to data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau. In many categories, such as median household income, communities in the northern suburbs still outperform the central city, but the gap has narrowed dramatically.

That could reflect either long-time Atlantans experiencing economic progress or new people moving into town as part of a back-to-the-city trend, said Georgia State University public management and policy associate professor Cathy Yang Liu.

“These days with higher gas prices, younger residents are arriving looking to live in city center,” Liu said. “It may have to do with proximity to jobs, shorter commutes, and greater accessibility to more amenities like restaurants, the theater or cultural activities.

“We don’t know exactly whether the original residents are improving in terms of their socioeconomic status, or if it’s the new residents moving to Atlanta who have higher socioeconomic status,” Liu said.

Whatever the underlying cause, median income in the city rose from $34,770 to $50,243, a 54 percent increase. At the same time, the percentage of city residents with at least a bachelor's degree increased by one-third, to 46 percent.