That degree of inequality encourages people near poor communities to move away, according to Orfield. A second related yardstick for a region is poverty in the school districts, which Orfield tracks by comparing the number of students eligible for federally subsidized lunches. When schools get too poor or are perceived as declining, middle class people leave. These factors, combined with a lack of regional planning, fueled suburban sprawl. From 1970 to 1990, Greater Cincinnati's population density shrank by 28 percent, but its urbanized land grew by 53 percent.
Unofficial segregation is also a byproduct.
Although parts of Cincinnati are being redeveloped, the region's fragmentation isn't stopping. Some school districts will get a lot poorer, Orfield says, further fueling sprawl and stripping older cities of population. Orfield is picking up where consultant Michael Gallis of Charlotte, N.C., left off nearly two years ago. Gallis' study, sponsored by the Metropolitan Growth Alliance, concluded that the Tristate's terribly fragmented collection of cities, townships, villages, school districts and other subdivisions were keeping the area from prospering. A grant from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation is covering most of the cost.