# Is outer city the new inner city?

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2013-09-05

generation-y, inner-city, millenials, outer-city, the-great-inversion, uncategorized

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What does the term “[inner city](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_city)" mean to you?

It’s a loaded term. But probably more so for North Americans than Europeans. For a long time, calling a neighbourhood inner city, was simply a [nice way of saying poor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_city). They were the neighbourhoods that people of means left behind when they fled to the suburbs with their cars.

But in today’s world it’s a stale term. So I think it’s about time that we officially retire it from our lexicon. All across North America inner city neighbourhoods - with their historic housing stocks and walkable main streets - have become some of the most desirable places to live. 

Author Alan Ehrenhalt calls this [The Great Inversion](http://www.amazon.com/Great-Inversion-Future-American-City/dp/0307272745/gristmagazine) (title of his book):

_"What we are seeing is a reversal in which the words “inner city,” which a generation ago connoted poverty and slums, \[are going to mean\] the home of wealthier people and people who have a choice about where they live, and the suburbs are going to be the home of immigrants and poorer people. And Census figures show that that’s taking place."_

For many of us this, this isn’t news. The trends are clear. [Young Americans are driving less](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/us/report-finds-americans-are-driving-less-led-by-youth.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0) and there’s been a growing [preference for more compact and walkable communities](http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/further_evidence_of_market_shr.html).

But does this mean that outer city will become the new inner city?

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/is-outer-city-the-new-inner-city)*