The relationship of the suburbs to each other and to the central city is changing. Initially sub-urban in an urban hierarchy, suburbs are gradually gaining full urban status as nodes in a series of networks. In the process, they are inheriting many of the functions and problems previously reserved for the central city. One major result will be an in creasing tension between the "old-timers" and the "new- comers." In a hierarchical, fractionated region, old-timers have always constituted a majority and have thereby resisted change. As the urban hierarchy breaks down, it may be more difficult for the parts to maintain differences, and it may seem more logical to balance what is good for people against what is good for places.