The Modern City

I started classes today. There was an orientation – so many people, so many races and beliefs, so much knowledge. Our cohort weekend seminar is entitled ‘The Modern City’. We’re to read ‘Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in postwar Detroit’ – I can imagine that’s going to be a depressing read. I’m pretty well-versed on Chicago’s battle with racism and the older Mayor Daley’s attempts to separate races into their own neighborhoods. Of course, Chicago and its suburbs are sprawled all the way out to Rockford, a two-hour drive from the city when the traffic is light. The rings of suburbs show quite clearly the path of white flight.