The State Of America's Cities

A new study that checks the pulse of American cities warns that poor urban schools and middle-class flight threaten the strongest economic performance cities have witnessed in a decade.

The second annual "State of the Cities" report released by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department at the U.S. Conference of Mayors national convention offers both a soothing and sobering picture of the urban landscape.

Simply put, the patient is doing well but disease, in the form of growing concentrated poverty in the inner city, poses significant risks.

Good news for cities abounds in the 75-page report.

The economy has produced 16 million new jobs and record low unemployment. And the number of employed people living in central cities increased by almost 3.7 million people in the past five years.

Unemployment in central cities fell to an average of 5.3 percent early this year from 8.2 percent in 1993.

Downtowns that just 20 years ago more closely resembled ghost towns in Cleveland, Baltimore, St. Louis and Washington have become tourist meccas thanks to sports arenas and arts centers.

Even crime, the age-old bane of city dwelling, has been tamed to a degree. Violent crime fell 19 percent in big cities between 1993 and 1997.

But despite the impressive gains, poor city residents are being left behind by growing numbers of middle-class residents.

Since 1970, nearly 6 million middle-income and affluent families left central cities, according to the report.

Poor schools are one of the most frequently cited reasons for the middle-class flight, according to the study. In 1994 and 1996, 60 percent of children in urban school districts failed to achieve basic competency on standardized reading and math tests.

And in the nation's 20 largest urban school districts, more than half of the students never graduate.

"For millions of urban youth, finishing high school and attending college seem an impossible dream - this in an era demanding high skills for high wages" the report says.

It asks: "If we are not now ready to take on these challenges when the budget is in surplus, unemployment is at record lows and the stock market is at record highs, when will we be ready?"

Written by Paul Shepard
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