Joel Kotkin is one of the most prolific authors of modern American social and political opinion. It is rare a week goes by without one of his articles surfacing somewhere in the constellation of sources I scan.
Mostly he attacks, from different perspectives, the urban planning orthodoxy of emphasis on public transport-oriented high density living. He a leading exponent of lower density suburban/exurban life, and the numbers are on his side.
Writing for Claremont Institute’s The American Mind, he concludes that given the polarization of urban and rural areas as respective bastions of Democrat and Republican politics, the ‘burbs are where the next generation’s elections will be decided.
Much of the media, as well as the planning and academic clerisy, has little appreciation for what drives suburban migration—factors like greater affordability, more space, better schools, or less crime. Even suburbanites who may be somewhat “woke” on issues of the environment, race, or gender, still have economic and family interests, and prefer to control their own communities. A recent Rasmussen poll found that close to 80 percent of adult Americans oppose the idea of letting Washington control local zoning.
A major opportunity for Republicans is the suburban emphasis on holding down crime, an issue favoring the GOP.
