The unique growth and challenges facing large cities in the U.S. Sun Belt will require a break from the kinds of policies generated to serve Northeastern and Midwestern cities over the course of U.S. history.
"That future can be seen now in the cities of the Urban Sun Belt — the 22 metropolitan statistical areas in the Sun Belt with a population of 1 million people or more," according to an article published by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
The article previews a new white paper from the Kinder Institute, titled "The Urban Sun Belt: An Overview," which "explores the interconnected opportunities and problems facing these large, young and quickly growing metro areas and how they differentiate them from the big cities of the Rust Belt and Coastal/Mountain regions of the U.S."
One of the prominent features of the biggest Sun Belt metropolitan areas is their quick growth, which includes quick growth in low-income populations. Meanwhile, affordability, a major selling point for many of these cities during the growth of recent decades, is slipping away.
For solutions to the challenges facing Sun Belt cities, the report suggests a new kind of urban policy, tailored to the unique qualities of those cities. "Many of the challenges facing the Urban Sun Belt are very specific to those metros. Making it more difficult to meet these challenges, according to the report, is the fact that most American urban policy is still crafted — and policy research is still conducted — with traditional Northeastern and Midwestern cities in mind," according to the article.
FULL STORY: Large, young and fast-growing Sun Belt metros need urban policy innovation
Sun Belt Cities Are Facing Many Changes and Challenges
Cities across this swath of the country have rapidly growing populations and economies. At the same time, Sun Belt cities are contending with a common host of urban issues that should not be overlooked.
Sun Belt Cities: Booming Populations, Low GDP Growth
Population trends are often used as a shorthand for a city's economic prowess, but Pete Saunders argues they may be a lagging indicator.
Sunshine State Overtakes Empire State as Third Most Populous State
William H. Frey, Brookings Institution demographer, writes on the latest Census Bureau demographic data. California and Texas remain number one and two respectively. New York had 19.7 million residents on July 1, 2014, Florida 19.9 million people.
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Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
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