FLIGHT FROM BLIGHT AND METROPOLITAN SUBURBANIZATION REVISITED

Patterns of metropolitan suburbanization were analyzed for 51 large me tropolitan areas. Migration data indicate that suburban population gro wth attributed to in-migration from outside the metropolitan area is s ubstantially greater, on average, than that attributed to city-to-subu rb migration. Distinguishing between these sources of suburban populat ion growth, significant associations were found between metropolitan s uburbanization and central-city hardship conditions. The results suppo rt the notion of a complementary relationship between central cities a nd suburbs and argue for more aggressive intervention in support of ce ntral cities and greater cooperation between central cities and suburb s in matters of regional development policies.