America’s urban-rural partisan divide deepened with this year’s election, with cities and suburbs becoming bluer as rural areas grew redder. As has been increasingly clearer for years, polarization is not simply a phenomenon of ideology now, but also one of density. It turns out that where we live matters a lot for how we vote, which in turn reinforces economic, educational, and cultural patterns becoming clear across the country.

In this discussion, we will dive into the 2020 election and its insights into an America fast becoming the “city and its hills.” How did this election reflect long-running trends in urbanism and migration, and what was the source of these fault lines? Is geographic partisanship reflecting or reinforcing economic and cultural sorting? And what are the implications for our growing urban-rural divide?

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