NEWS BRIEF: New cities are a variation of white flight, scholar says

The Buckhead cityhood push may have been curtailed, but other areas around Atlanta are busily making similar plans. Residents of East Cobb, Lost Mountain and Vinings, all in Cobb County, could get to decide on creating their own municipalities as soon as May if the state general assembly gives its approval. Nearby Mableton is also leaning in that direction. But the de-annexation trend, which is gathering steam nationwide, has its dissenters. Law scholar Jenna Raden argues in the Tulane Law Review that if a new city results in a concentration of whiter and wealthier households, it constitutes a “segregative effect” that would merit a Fair Housing Act investigation. “Federal housing authorities would help redraw municipal boundaries and offer equitable policies to ensure that the creation of the new city would not result in concentrated poverty (or wealth) and racial segregation for the neighborhoods left out.” bloomberg.com