I wonder if the homogeneity has come from gentrification and high property prices. NYC might have been a crime-ridden dump in the 60s, but it was cheap enough that Andy Warhol could afford to rent a massive studio. And a modern day Leonard Cohen wouldn't be welcome in the Chelsea Hotel.
Now you have to be a lawyer or work in finance to hope to even get a modest sized apartment in NYC.
Now you have to be a lawyer or work in finance to hope to even get a modest sized apartment in NYC.