Growth Management and the City

The way urban growth has been "managed," it is no surprise that America's cities are dying. During the last three decades, American urban growth policy was directed to suburban growth. Government encouraged exodus from the metropolis through: deep subsidies for highways, utilities, and open space; housing finance, particularly in the form of tax deductions for mortgage interest and real property taxes; and subsidized Veteran's Administration loans and Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance. Leaving the city in search of suburban values, the affluent were followed by industry in search of greener locations, retail establishments that favor malls, and restaurants and entertainment outlets looking for secure locations.

Thus, the economic base from which taxes are generated to fund public services was transferred to the suburbs.