For richer, for poorer

A gloss on the Brookings Institution's recent report about the disappearance of middle-class neighborhoods in American cities: the social cost of economic segregation.

“This trend toward living and interacting with people who are like you is intensifying a lot,” said Professor Gyourko, who lives in the affluent suburb of Swarthmore, Pa. “I do not meet the full range of incomes and social classes within my neighborhood. Well, think about what happens if metropolitan areas like New York, San Francisco and the like turn into my suburb. You’ll have even less interaction. The most interesting and potentially foreboding implication of this sorting is that it changes the way we view life.”

UPDATE: Downtown condos cater to the well off in Raleigh. In Chapel Hill at least we are making a serious effort to require affordable housing in new downtown development projects.