The Suburban Ghetto: The Legacy of Herbert Gans in Understanding the Experience of Poverty in Recently Impoverished American Suburbs

Abstract

Reports based on data collected from the 2000 U.S. Census reveal a dramatic transformation in the landscape of poverty and inequality in the United States in the 1990s. U.S. central city areas have witnessed considerable decreases in rates of poverty while, at the same time, suburbs have experienced significant increases in rates of poverty. Indeed, the outcome of this shift has resulted in demographic trends, quality of life issues, economic and social outcomes, and signs of physical deterioration that we often associate with deteriorating inner cities now being found in a number of American suburbs. Beyond basic demographic information, however, little is known about daily life in these areas. This paper explores the conceptual, analytical, and methodological contributions of Herbert Gans, specifically, his ethnographic study of the suburban community Levittown, for the study of these changes. The paper reviews the literature on suburban poverty in order to identify the ways in which Gans's work contributes to future suburban scholarship as students of the suburb grapple with trying to understand and examine this transformation and the impact that this suburban change has had on the daily lives of the poor living in these recently turned poor suburbs.