Redistribution and the Politics of Spatial Inequality in America

Abstract

In the United States, the politics of inequality and poverty has long been linked to the political geography of the metropolis. Fueled by waves of immigration, American cities developed a distinctive spatial politics defined by class, ethnicity, and race. Postwar suburban development added a new dimension of separation that sharpened spadal inequality by establishing racial walls between cities and suburbs. The division of the metropolis along racial lines forged the white middle class even as it denied economic opportunities to black Americans. Separated by political boundaries, cities and suburbs effectively formed "two Americas, one black, one white," as the Kerner Commission memorably declared (United States 15168). Over the past half century, however, the old lines between cities and suburbs have lost the significance they once had. Growing numbers of African Americans have moved to suburbs even as new cohorts of immigrants have transformed the populations of cities and suburbs. Moreover, the economic divisions of the past no longer define the geography of the metropolis: many cities have experienced economic booms and an influx of affluent residents, while poverty in the suburbs has risen. Intertwined with these spatial shifts is growing economic inequality that has richly rewarded those at tfae top of the income spectrum and left the middle class increasingly stressed. Making sense of the new metropolis is critical for understanding opportunity and inequality in the United States. Place of residence