Three Americas: The Rising Significance of Regions

Abstract Sarah McKenzie's image Aerial #21 (Niwot) shows new housing developments encroaching on farmland in Colorado. It serves as a visual example of the residential redistribution discussed by William Frey in this Longer View, and one of its consequences. It also highlights the rapid growth of many mountain states in the region Frey labels the New Sunbelt. The artist is a landscape painter whose work addresses issues of land use and development. She is particularly interested in the many ways our built environment has changed over time in response to changes in our culture. She is currently an assistant professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art. She holds a BA from Yale and an MFA in painting from the University of Michigan. To view more of her work, visit http://www.sarahmckenzie.com or contact the Carson-Masuoka Gallery in Denver, Colorado (303) 573-8585. The results of the 2000 Census show the increasing importance of regional differences for understanding America's racial and demographic landscape. Well-worn local labels such as urban, suburban, and rural are becoming less descriptive of lifestyles, racial profiles, and age structures than distinctions that separate sets of states into three regions: the suburb-like “New Sunbelt,” the racially diverse “Melting Pot,” and the slow-growing, aging “Heartland.” These regional divisions are rooted in the somewhat distinct redistribution patterns of immigrant minorities, who have concentrated mostly in coastal areas, and streams of largely White domestic migrants, who have gravitated to newer, economically prosperous areas in the Southeast and West.