what are some cities that missed the sunbelt boom and why?

[mjlo]

Originally Posted by sleepless in Bham

In Birmingham's case add years of poor leadership and a population the sees growth as something terrible.

Birmingham and Memphis were both big industrial cities before the sunbelt boom. They went into decline during suburbanization the way northern cities did. It's one of those details often not mentioned when discussing sunbelt cities and their growth. New Orleans is similar, it being a big party draw helps its reputation a lot, but it has gone through the same pop decline and crime struggles the other two have. Most sunbelt cities grew up around the automobile post industrial, and don't have the urban bones like Memphis and Bham. In the future that could work against them.

Aside from that the majority of sunbelt influx is by the uneducated workforce from the north which could also pose long term economic problems. These are things not often considered when people want to drool over sunbelt growth.

[bawac34618]

Originally Posted by kdb05f

That fits the case with Little Rock. In state competition would be the Fayetteville area that has a lot of growth. There was high crime in the '90s and that got national attention and Arkansas is often overlooked and has a negative image anyway. Throw in mistakes and missed opportunities. FedEx actually started in Little Rock and only moved to Memphis after Little Rock wouldn't make changes to accommodate their planes. Keeping it would have made a huge difference for the city.

It's amazing that twenty years later so many still associate Little Rock with that '90s documentary about their crime problem. I also agree that Little Rock would be a completely different place today if it would have kept FedEx. It would have had the economic clout of Memphis but without some of the negatives. Today the city has a pretty stable economy but there is no dominant industry or catalyst to really drive growth.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by bawac34618

Pretty much the cities you mention. Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Memphis, and Birmingham. Pretty much all of those cities have negative perceptions or quality of life issues that make them less desirable.

I'd argue that much of the South had a negative QOL perception for a long time, until the last couple of decades, that is. So to me, that doesn't necessarily explain how OKC, Birmingham and the gang somehow missed out on the spike in growth. My guess would include where a.) colleges are, and b.) where jobs were most plentiful.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by gr to okc

I have no bias towards okc I live here but the people here feel they missed the boom they want Austin type growth.

Geez....why would you WANT Austin-level growth?! Denver, Seattle, even Atlanta I can see, but not the rate Austin is growing, which seems to be paralyzing the city's infrastructure and services.