Regionalism is important, but how will a regional approach work when the suburbs that live off of the jobs, amenities, and indentity provided by cities allow the center city to wither and lose its vibrancy?
Carol Coletta of CEOs for Cities examines how these issues have affected her hometown of Memphis, where residents have been paying twice for shared city/county expenses.
But the city has been hurt most by its liberal annexation policies, which allowed it to annex nearby suburbs -- suburbs that were already declining in value and lacking the basic services that Memphis then had to provide.
One new development opened. Another closed. No net growth. Ultimately, the center city suffered, as has the Memphis metro area.
The same is happening in older metros throughout the country.
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