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There are many once-bustling cities that have been devastated by deindustrialization, suburban flight, and urban decay. If you could bring one American city back to its peak population, which one would you choose? Which city would be most exciting to live in if it regained the density and population it once had? Criteria: the city must have been large (top 20) at one point in time and must have lost at least 1/3 of its population since then (Sorry, Boston, DC, and Chicago).
Here are the cities that qualify and their peak populations (all in 1950, except for New Orleans):
Detroit: 1,850,000
Baltimore: 950,000
Cleveland: 915,000
St. Louis: 857,000
Pittsburgh: 677,000
Buffalo: 580,000
New Orleans: 628,000
Cincinnati: 504,000
I voted New Orleans of course but it would be nice is St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore, and Buffalo could regain their populations and be as important and influential as they once were.
It depends on how we repopulate these cities and if we preserve much of what's good in them. I'm partial to Cincinnati architecturally, but think that Detroit would really compel people.
Also, repopulating Philly or Chicago to their peak would take pretty great advantage of the infrastructure already in place and add to the inertia they already have.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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I'd like to see all of them prosper again. The one I pick is St. Louis though. I spent a week there and I found it to be a fascinating city. If one thought in the early 20th century that St. Louis would not be one of America's premier cities they'd have probably been met with considerable doubt. St. Louis is an intriguing treasure trove of diverse architecture, old money, exceptional city parks, old world charm, very good food, a nostalgic setting on the Mississippi River, and a Great American iconic landmark. It has so much untapped potential and even today is a wonderful city, I hope it prospers again, but again I hope they all do.
The biggest tragedy here is Detroit. I sense optimism in places like Pittsburgh and St. Louis with its great losses still seems fairly resilliant, many still love New Orleans and want to see it comeback, but many have simply just written Detroit off treating it like a bastard child and left it for dead. Somehow I still see Detroit potentially making a comback and having a whole new dynamic about it in say 50 years. It just needs to reinvent itself.
I think a model peer city to look up to Minneapolis. It's a very proseperous city today, but being in the region that its in it vulnerably very well could have had the same fate as the others listed. What's the secret to the success of Minneapolis?
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 11-30-2011 at 05:52 AM..
Really I'd like to see every single one of these cities repopulated, but Detroit in its heyday was amazing. There is still soooo much potential.
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