Link: Trading Places

An interesting piece on the movement, particularly of the affluent and the young, back into city centers and downtowns, including couples raising young children.

Trading Places

Interesting part to me:

The young newcomers who have rejuvenated 14th and U [D.C.] believe that this recovering slum is the sort of place where they want to spend time and, increasingly, where they want to live. This is the generation that grew up watching "Seinfeld," "Friends," and "Sex and the City," mostly from the comfort of suburban sofas. We have gone from a sitcom world defined by "Leave It to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" to one that offers a whole range of urban experiences and enticements. I do not claim that a handful of TV shows has somehow produced a new urbanist generation, but it is striking how pervasive the pro-city sensibility is within this generation, particularly among its elite. In recent years, teaching undergraduates at the University of Richmond, the majority of them from affluent suburban backgrounds, I made a point of asking where they would prefer to live in 15 years--in a suburb or in a neighborhood close to the center of the city. Few ever voted for suburban life.

The author won't claim it, but I will: Positive images of city life on TV, particularly the exact three mentioned, played a big role in me moving to New York. When I announced my new job and home, many around me expressed concern about my safety. Indeed, my brother lives in the suburbs, and my dad lives on a farm. (Well, a former farm.) Only in New York could Astoria be referred to as a "suburb".

I'm reminded of Hans Rosling's wonderful Ted Talk where he demonstrates how most of our thoughts about developing nations are wrapped up in assumptions formed in the 60's and earlier. Using charts and animations, Rosling vividly demonstrates just how outmoded our prejudices have become.

So, too, the city. Most Pennsylvanians I talked to prior to moving envisioned a New York riddled with crime and danger, particularly at night. In other words, the New York of the 70's. (I recently read that in 1979, subways derailed or collided once every 15 days. Ponder.) Clearly, those I knew had formed their image of New York at that time, and had received no reason to change perspective. Not that I blame them; Until I saw for myself, I shared some of that flawed world view.

What I have found is something quite different.

As the Article notes, there are people everywhere, at all times, engaging in social and commercial activities, and this fosters a sense of safety. I now understand why John Cusack plays a tape of traffic in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: It's comforting.

But as I was saying, sitting in my remote childhood home, watching Seinfeld, Friends, and Sex in the City, I began to wonder if perhaps the city might be the place for me. I heard cities were dangerous, but they also looked like fun.

A few visits and a job offer later, I have found New York even more interesting, more enthralling, and safer than I had hoped. I'm still new here, and I may grow weary, but I certainly do not feel imperiled, and I'm never bored. Positive TV imagery opened me to explore the possibility.

So: Thanks, TV!