Is Ditmas Park The Last Place For The City's Middle-Class Families?

How cities deal with families (and vice versa) is at issue in a recent article in the City Journal. Have cities have become “playgrounds for the rich, traps for the poor, and way stations for the ambitious young en route eventually to less congested places,” they wonder? And, as a result, do middle-class families live in them anymore?

The article seems to finds solace for that group in our area:

But Flatbush’s tree-lined neighborhoods, such as Kensington and Ditmas Park, may be the city’s best hope for retaining middle-class families. These areas still have many single-family homes and low-rise apartments. And Cortelyou Road, a main drag in Ditmas Park, brims with family-friendly restaurants and shops, though it was fairly desolate just a decade ago. Young families are enthusiastic about the neighborhood.

Even with that hopeful praise, they speak to a couple of neighbors who note that cost of living and schools are some of the things that can make raising a family here more difficult. Still, we’ve got the nearby open space of Prospect Park, a nice public library, and places like Lark that cater to children.

So what can help make it easier for middle-class families to stay in cities? They propose a pretty tall order: “more affordable urban neighborhoods with decent schools, safe streets, adequate parks—and more housing space… If cities want families, they should promote a mixture of density options.”

What do you think the current and future state of middle-class families in our area is? There was some debate earlier this year about what “middle class” even constitutes anymore, and the question of who can afford to live here comes up pretty often in our regular posts about open houses and rental listings. Is Ditmas Park the best chance New York City has of retaining middle-class families?

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