The American metropolis at century's end: Past and future influences

Abstract

The American metropolis at century's end is vastly different than what many expected just 50 years ago. At mid‐century, seers envisioned a clean, rationally planned city of the future, free of long‐standing problems such as traffic and poverty. The reality is more complex. We built a new metropolis that addressed some major problems while simultaneously creating a host of new ones. The next 50 years will undoubtedly contain similar surprises.

In conjunction with the 1999 Annual Housing Conference, which looked at the legacy of the 1949 Housing Act, the Fannie Mae Foundation commissioned a survey that asked urban scholars to rank the key influences shaping the past and future American metropolis. The “top 10” lists that resulted are the focus of this article.