Anti-urbanism

The United States has had what has been described as a culture of "anti-urbanism" that may date back to the early days of the Union, as Thomas Jefferson wrote that "The mobs of great cities add just so much to the support of pure government as sores do to the strength of the human body." On the businessmen who brought manufacturing industry into cities and hence increased the population density necessary to supply the workforce, he wrote that "the manufactures of the great cities ... have begotten a depravity of morals, a dependence and corruption, which renders them an undesirable accession to a country whose morals are sound." Similar sentiments for rustic virtue may be found in the works of Rousseau and in the Back-to-the-land movement of the 20th century.

Modern anti-urban attitudes are found in America in the form of the housing development profession that continues to develop land on a low-density suburban basis, where access to amenities, work and shopping is provided almost exclusively by car rather than on foot. Retail and professional services may establish themselves in the area for the convenience of the suburbanites, but the cultural assets of central city rarely follow. There is usually significant opposition to expanding mass transit, typically on financial grounds. Fact|date=May 2008 At grade or above grade systems may also be rejected for reasons based on NIMBYism, one paradox of mass transit planning being that everyone would like to have a easy access to the transit station, but nobody wants the tracks anywhere near their house.

Contemporary anti-urban attitudes in the United States may at times seem to be linked to racism.Fact|date=May 2008 In the United States, large numbers of African Americans migrated from the rural South to the industrial cities of the North during the 20th century, in what became known as the Great Migration. Meanwhile, the development of interstate highways allowed for easy access to suburban areas, helping to spur white flight to suburban areas.Fact|date=May 2008 However, regardless of any possible racism, aspiring to own a single family house with a yard (garden) is an almost non-negotiable cultural imperative. Young couples of any race, even living in vibrant and non-threatening city neighborhoods, very often move to the suburbs as soon as they have or expect to have a child. By the late 20th century, many inner cities of large American cities had non-white majorities, while suburbs of the cities were often heavily white. Patterns of white flight have also taken place in parts of large British cities as immigrants from South Asia, the Caribbean and elsewhere have moved in.Fact|date=May 2008

Anti-urbanism is still indirectly extolled by politicians who tout their small-town or rural origins. This is usually more associated with Republicans; although Reagan came from a career in Hollywood and would thus otherwise be suspect, but this liability was easily overcome by his conservative views and unassuming manner. Recent Presidents or presidential nominees of both parties have tended to come from small towns, with the notable recent exception of Barack Obama, who is closely identified with the city of Chicago.