From old suburb to post-suburb: The politics of retrofit in the inner suburb of Upper Arlington, Ohio

Abstract

Many scholars discuss post‐suburbia in terms of the urbanization of edge cities, an evolving built‐up periphery, or as a broader trend of decline among older suburbs alongside new outer‐ring suburban growth. This article explores the post‐suburban thesis in the context of the older, inner suburb of Upper Arlington, Ohio, located in the Columbus metropolitan area. This suburb is shifting from a traditional residential community to a more complex mix of domiciliary and economic functions, a process of redevelopment we characterize as a shift from an old suburb to a post‐suburb. Based on qualitative interviews and analysis, we find that the politics of redevelopment in the older, landlocked suburb of Upper Arlington is contentious, and driven in large part by this suburb's need to overcome fiscal stress and maintain its competitive edge in the new metropolitan economy. We suggest that New Urbanist suburbanization for older, inner suburbs is influenced by their desire to remain competitive in a highly fragmented metropolis.

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