The complaints in that article mostly stem from systemic problems with abandoned city cores. In areas that have seen large-scale gentrification the schools have

The complaints in that article mostly stem from systemic problems with abandoned city cores. In areas that have seen large-scale gentrification the schools have predictably seen similar increases in achievement. Crime tends to follow a similar trajectory. What he's describing the headache that comes with being an urban 'pioneer'. I'll also take exception with gems like: Nobody lays in their bed in Plano and hears gunshots half a mile away. Except that they do. I still own a house in Plano (in the most suburban 'safest' part), and in the year in a half that we lived there (2005-2007) we: * had a neighbor (3 houses down) forced at gunpoint back into their house, tied up, and robbed blind. All happened in broad daylight. * had a gun-fight in the parking lot across the street from our development * had multiple muggings and car-jackings all within close proximity of our house.