Cities or Suburbs - Where will the next generation pay to live

I have recently read a few books on changes in living patterns among Americans in the 21st century and what is expected to happen in future years.

Since WWII, there has been a strong bias against city living and towards suburbs and exurbs. Our cities became crime ridden and run down in many cases and suburbs flourished. This is in contrast to pretty much the rest of the world where cities seem to have more appeal and outer areas much less. Just look at places like Paris, Tokyo or Buenos Aires as simple examples.

However, this seems to be changing in the last twenty years with the process only accelerating in many parts of the country. In some cases it is a demographic inversion of some sort. Long expensive commutes and a life centered around the auto seem to have less appeal among the younger generation especially as the suburbs have sprawled over such a long distance.

How is this affecting your real estate investing if at all? In some parts of the country, this doesn't seem to be taking place nearly as much as in others. Specifically, the middle of the country still seems to have a bias towards suburbs and a disdain for central areas of the city, while areas on the coast seem to have more gentrification in the cities and many far flung suburbs having more poverty and crime. I find myself amazed at some of the changes in my city that I never would have thought possible 15 years ago.

This isn't to say that all suburbs will become slums and all areas of the city will flourish. Far from it as some suburbs may transform themselves into more desirable village like areas and certainly some city areas will continue to struggle. Also most Americans live in suburbs so there simply is not room for much growth in city areas. However, there are simply a lot more single people as marriage and child bearing are put off later and later and younger people want more convenience over a big house.