What the 1880s tell us about why the rich are moving to cities today
An interesting article in the Washington Post looks at the trend of wealthier residents moving back into urban areas today, and how it compares to similar trends over 130 years ago.
“Downtowns — many built before the automobile — are inherently easy to get around on foot and by transit, for people who may be tired of commuting today.... Close-in locations were the most coveted in 1880 when getting around was a pain on horse-drawn railways, says urban historian Carl Abbott, and so people with the most money claimed them. That is not so different from the market today where the wealthy can afford to buy the kind of housing that allows them to walk to jobs downtown, and where poverty is increasingly moving to the suburbs.”