You heard it here first. Over a month ago, I predicted in a post that the surge in oil prices may float real estate prices in New York City and other urban areas. With gas at $4 plus a gallon, Americans living in the suburbs and exurbs will realize it no longer pays to commute to urban areas for work, and will reverse the great sub-urban migration that began in the early 1980s.
Today, the New York Times agreed with me. You will see many more articles about this in the weeks and months to come. High gasoline prices are going to kill the exurbs. With their demise, the megachurches that have fueled the growth of the far right/Christian wing of the Republican party will lose influence. Economic necessity will force exurbanites to move closer to urban areas, which historically have been centers of progressive, liberal thought. Will exurbanites succumb to the moderating influence of liberal populations in major metropolitan areas, or will they fuel a backlash of urban conservatism? It’s way too soon to tell, but I’m willing to bet that the coming re-urbanization of America will lead to major changes in race relations, gay rights, the pro-life/pro-choice debate and other social issues.
[...] on reverse “white flight,” a topic I’ve covered before on Street Sweeper here and here. As I mentioned to Lehrer on his show, I think the migration of poor and middle income people out [...]