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Buffalo already has these things actually. So, it has to be something else.
Maybe I should have used "elite" not "high quality." SUNY Buffalo is a fine school, but its not even close to being on the same plane as Harvard, MIT, UPenn, Columbia, NYU and other schools that are bulwarks in other cities against the decline of the Northeast. It has the same "decent, but unexceptional, unselective" reputation that the other SUNYs have, and it probably isn't the best one of the group anyway.
Same goes for the white collar employment. Having a regional bank or two does not an industry hub make. A good example of a smaller Northeastern city that is holding on pretty well due to an historical intellectual capital industry is Hartford. Insurance and Hartford are two things that go hand in hand and come to mind as primary mental association to knowledgeable outsiders. Again, there's nothing in Buffalo that's even close to that.
This is only mentioning the summers. I was talking about the year round weather, not just summers. Maybe Buffalo has a few more sunnier days than the rest of the Northeast during the summers, but definitely not year round. The statistics back this up, as well as people who lived or spent a lot of time there. When I was in Buffalo, I remember all the people from the NYC metro who were there for college would say how much sunnier it was downstate compared to Buffalo.
Buffalo has some very good colleges, but they can't compare to several top colleges in Boston which will always attract more people not just for education but for high end academic research. Buffalo has no where near the historical intellectual capital of NYC or even Philly. Buffalo does not have any large IT industry like in Seattle or the Bay Area. Nor has Buffalo tried to make an intellectual economic comeback in other industries, like Pittsburgh with biotechnology.
Besides Pittsburgh, I wouldn't compare Buffalo to those other cities/areas just because of size alone. I will agree that the more diverse the economy Buffalo has the better.
Also, Buffalo has other areas just within its own state to compete with for resources.
Besides Pittsburgh, I wouldn't compare Buffalo to those other cities/areas just because of size alone. I will agree that the more diverse the economy Buffalo has the better.
Also, Buffalo has other areas just within its own state to compete with for resources.
That's no excuse. Buffalo may be smaller in population, but it's still considered a bigger tier city the US with a population of at least one million in the metro area.
Compare Buffalo to Austin, both similar in population size, and Buffalo looks terrible. Austin is blossoming, it has bigger cities in Texas to "compete for resources" with yet it's doing well economically.
That's no excuse. Buffalo may be smaller in population, but it's still considered a bigger tier city the US with a population of at least one million in the metro area.
Compare Buffalo to Austin, both similar in population size, and Buffalo looks terrible. Austin is blossoming, it has bigger cities in Texas to "compete for resources" with yet it's doing well economically.
Austin is also the state capital with THE flagship university in Texas. That is a different story versus Buffalo. Austin is also a city that grew within recent years that has also expanded its city limits through annexation. So, Austin is just a different type of city in comparison, even if Buffalo held or grew steadily in terms of population. With that said, I feel that the area could diversify its economy by using the area colleges/universities in terms of research based jobs and to come together to encourage business development and incubators.
Austin is also the state capital with THE flagship university in Texas. That is a different story versus Buffalo. Austin is also a city that grew within recent years that has also expanded its city limits through annexation. So, Austin is just a different type of city in comparison, even if Buffalo held or grew steadily in terms of population. With that said, I feel that the area could diversify its economy by using the area colleges/universities in terms of research based jobs and to come together to encourage business development and incubators.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always hear that UB is the flagship of SUNY.
There isn't one, beyond the fact that all four universities are flagships of a system comprised of many colleges of varying quality. FWIW, Binghamton and Stony Brook tend to rank higher, but I believe UB has substantially more research going on than those two.
The Queen City has been shrinking since the 1950s.
What year do you think the city of Buffalo will experience its first population growth?
What would the surplus be?
Why? Do you want it to be like Charlotte where there's 2 2 lane interstates and that's how a million people every day are moved about? It's HELL!
Buffalo is fine the size it is. Large cities often have severe problems. Traffic comes to mind. They couldn't build fast enough in Charlotte or Atlanta and now both suck to drive around forget going to anything in them. You can spend half the day in traffic. No thanks!
Compare Buffalo to Austin, both similar in population size, and Buffalo looks terrible. Austin is blossoming, it has bigger cities in Texas to "compete for resources" with yet it's doing well economically.
You can live without water? Austin and Texas have been in a severe drought for quite some time. Austin isn't that fabulous so I am told from several people who relocated there. They don't like 120 degrees for some reason. The lack of seasons is also a problem for many.
Remember, Buffalo is an old city. Austin is a fairly new city comparatively.
I did google those things, and I think we are using a different google... Or perhaps one of us sees what they want.
Buffalo just isn't going to grow in any meaningful way in our lifetime. Many of the old northeastern cities sprouted up where they did due to things that don't matter the way they do now, such as proximity to shipping lanes, fresh water, viable farmland, etc. With technology improvements, we can now put a few million people in an extremely dry desert without sacrificing their quality of living. So, now a bunch of places that might have more desirable weather are on the table. People prefer warm weather by a two to one margin, and among those who prefer cold weather, the most popular cities are Seattle, Portland and Denver, which are not cold in the way Midwestern and Northeastern cities are. So then you ask yourself, what does Buffalo have that can't be obtained somewhere with better weather?
To survive this population shift you have to have high quality institutions (schools, government) that aren't just going to pack up and leave to enjoy better weather. Or you have to have a very strong industry that is based off of intellectual capital (insurance, finance) that is historically located in your city. Manufacturing and transportation related industries are way
These things do matter....and are the reason why these "dessert oasis" places like the central valley in CA, Phoenix, Las Vegas, etc....are not sustainable population centers and if the housing crisis hadn't already stopped the growth in those areas; the fact that they don't have access to sufficient amounts of fresh water would have eventually. The northeast and midwest will ALWAYS be more heavily populated than the west...that's just a fact. They can sustain a larger population based on natural resources. We as humans can change a lot of things about the planet...but mostly those are temporary. We can't make inhospitable places be hospitable long-term. The migration trend to the south and west from the north and east has slowed SIGNIFICANTLY over the last 5 years and probably for good.
As far as the the city-limits population of Buffalo increasing...don't know when that will happen (I don't see it going to completely zero so thus at some point in time, it would have to start increasing)...but as a former transplant to "the sunbelt"...I definitely think that the general trend of "Everyone and their mom should leave the northeast and move to the south/west" fad is past its prime.
These things do matter....and are the reason why these "dessert oasis" places like the central valley in CA, Phoenix, Las Vegas, etc....are not sustainable population centers and if the housing crisis hadn't already stopped the growth in those areas; the fact that they don't have access to sufficient amounts of fresh water would have eventually. The northeast and midwest will ALWAYS be more heavily populated than the west...that's just a fact. They can sustain a larger population based on natural resources. We as humans can change a lot of things about the planet...but mostly those are temporary. We can't make inhospitable places be hospitable long-term. The migration trend to the south and west from the north and east has slowed SIGNIFICANTLY over the last 5 years and probably for good.
Right here is a New Yorker who's moving back in a few days!!!! I moved to SC a few years ago and good lord if I knew then what I know now, I would have NEVER moved here! I soooo can't wait to have good water again.....water period since the area I'm in has been in a severe drought for over 10 years. And the zero chance of snow for Christmas really bites. God how I miss lakes! Natural ones. Not these fake, man-made "lakes" that have nuclear power plants on them.
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