EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - The Suburbanization of Poverty: Trends in Metropolitan America, 2000 to 2008

The Suburbanization of Poverty: Trends in Metropolitan America, 2000 to 2008

Introduction

The 1990s were a time of historic economic growth for the United States, and a period when the country made remarkable strides in poverty reduction, as evidenced by near record lows in the poverty rate and considerable declines in the number of high-poverty neighborhoods
throughout the country at the time of Census 2000. But 2000 marked a turning point for the economy as a whole and for American poverty.

Description

Over the course of this decade, two economic downturns translated into a significant rise in poverty, nationally and in many of the country’s metropolitan and non-metropolitan communities. Suburbs saw by far the greatest growth in their poor population and by 2008 had become home to the largest share of the nation’s poor. These trends are likely to continue in the wake of the latest downturn, given its toll on traditionally more suburbanized industries and the faster pace of growth in suburban unemployment. This ongoing shift in the geography of American poverty increasingly requires regional scale collaboration by policymakers and social service providers in order to effectively address the needs of a poor population that is increasingly suburban.

Knowledge dissemination

This report was published by the Brookings Institution. Also published in this series:

Conclusions

Summary of findings:

By 2008, suburbs were home to the largest and fastest-growing poor population in the country;
Midwestern cities and suburbs experienced by far the largest poverty rate increases over the decade;
In 2008, 91.6 million people—more than 30 percent of the nation’s population—fell below 200 percent of the federal poverty level;
Western cities and Florida suburbs were among the first to see the effects of the “Great Recession” translate into significant increases in poverty between 2007 and 2008.

Publication date

20/01/2010

Researcher

Elizabeth Kneebone and Emily Garr

Links

Click here to visit the website of the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program Click here to download the article "The Suburbanization of Poverty: Trends in Metropolitan America, 2000 to 2008"Click here to read a Q&A on the article, by one of its authors Background information: click here to download all the city profiles (95 in total)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy

Keywords