How a surge of whites will alter the cities

In a column for the Los Angeles Times, Gregory Rodriguez, executive director of the Center for Social Cohesion at Arizona State University, says that white suburbanites moving into US cities "appear to be bringing their suburban tastes with them," changing urban centers in a variety of ways.

Some cities, such as Atlanta, will soon cease to be mostly African-American, Rodriguez observes. New York's Times Square, which was once "the epitome of the juxtaposition of grime and glitz," is now full of suburban, white middle-class faces. 

"Will suburbanization dull cities' liberal edge or dampen the spirit of tolerance that diversity demands?" Rodriguez asks. That seems possible, he suggests, but it's also possible that new residents, with greater resources, will demand improved schools and conditions that serve families better. Some of the stark differences in class and culture, he says, may diminish.