These seem the best of times for America's elite cities. Wall Street's 2006 megabonuses created thousands of instant millionaires ... The bluest of the blue cities can also celebrate their rise to the top of the congressional pole.

Yet these triumphs obscure the longer-term developments that continue to reshape metropolitan America. Economic and demographic trends suggest that the future of American urbanism lies not in the elite cities but in younger, more affordable and less self-regarding places.