In recent years, well-paid and college-educated Americans have shed major cities like New York, San Francisco and Washington for places like Philadelphia or Birmingham, Ala.

Emily Badger, who writes about cities and urban policy for The Upshot at The New York Times, explains what is driving the change, and what it means for the future of the American city.

Guest: Emily Badger, a cities and urban policy correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Coastal cities have long been too expensive for low-wage workers. Now college graduates are leaving, too.
• More renters are moving out of big cities. But where are they going?

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.