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To get ahead in life you’ll want to live in the city. New findings show that urban sprawl actually impedes upward socioeconomic mobility.

A team of researchers from Utah, Texas and Louisiana built mathematical models to analyze the different ways urban sprawl can affect a person’s chances of getting ahead.

Lead study author Reid Ewing writes,

“As the compactness index for a metropolitan area doubles, the likelihood that a child is born into the bottom fifth of national income distribution will reach the top firth by age 30 increases by 41 percent.” The models considered factors like access to jobs and economic diversity. Ewing added, “By discouraging sprawl, we can not only improve air quality and shorten commutes, but we can also promote upward social mobility.”

I agree that living in the city does have it’s advantages.

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