Phillypreneurs

• Subprime crisis transforms American suburbs to wastelands of crime, poverty
• Survey finds 40 percent of homes in certain cities want walkable communities
• Arthur C. Nelson projects surplus of 22 million large-lot homes by 2025
• Experts project low-income families will be pushed out to suburban fringe

This change can be witnessed in places like Atlanta, Georgia, Detroit, Michigan, and Dallas, Texas, said Leinberger, where once rundown downtowns are being revitalized by well-educated, young professionals who have no desire to live in a detached single family home typical of a suburbia where life is often centered around long commutes and cars.

Instead, they are looking for what Leinberger calls “walkable urbanism” — both small communities and big cities characterized by efficient mass transit systems and high density developments enabling residents to walk virtually everywhere for everything — from home to work to restaurants to movie theaters.

So what does this mean for Philly? Most likely it means more and more suburbanites and would-be suburbanites will be moving into Center City and ‘Near’ Center City neighborhoods to escape the financial black hole of large properties and white picket fences. So what does that mean for Phillypreneurs? Buy property now! When looking for new business opportunities, think of what suburbanites are comfortable with. Could they bring their love of grass and green space with them? Will we see urban garden centers popping up? Will WaWa make a new resurgence in the city? Who knows for sure, but rest assured the city and it’s demographics are changing and ripe for some entrepreneurial ingenuity to guide it.

Read the full story on CNN.com

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