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As we all know many of the Midwest cities have suffered a lot. However, does anyone think that in the near future they will boom? Cities like Milwaukee and St. Louis seem that they are starting to blossom yet again. Here is why I think:
1. COL: Cities on the coast are becoming so ridiculously expensive, yet the Midwest has been so affordable. Even the region's largest and most famous city is fairly affordable when compared to it's national and international peers.
2. Water: Specifically in the Great Lakes region there is a lot of water. While not a super serious problem now, water shortages will be no joke in the decades to come. You also have the Mississippi River and plenty of lakes in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The point I am trying to make is that the Midwest has a ton of freshwater.
3. Infrastructure: Since most of these Midwest cities were strong in their heyday, they still have a better infrastructure than most sunbelt cities. While some of their infrastructures have decayed, it's easier to repair it than start from scratch.
I am sure there are other reasons. Thoughts anyone?
I see the water thing brought up a lot, though I'm not so sure how this will play out in the years to come. Surely cities in the desert Southwest, like Vegas, Phoenix, etc will either have to come up with very creative ways to get water, or the simple fact is that they have a growth ceiling. You definitely will not see the explosive growth in the future that you have seen in the last few decades. Climate may dictate how extensive this problem is. Texas, for example, probably can't see too many years like it just saw in 2011. The Southeast is probably okay in this regard. The Midwest, and especially the Great Lakes states, won't have to worry about this regardless. There is abundant water.
Besides water, the Great Lakes area has tons of natural resources. Ohio alone, my home state, is estimated to have at least $500 billion just in natural gas, and the related boom has barely started.
The return of manufacturing will also play a significant role in the future of this area.
In my honest opinion, I think the Midwest as a region will always do well. Of course, there are some ups and downs, especially for the cities near the Great Lakes. The Midwest benefits greatly from having plenty of water, highly educated population, and manufacturing sector that could rebound. The growth rate is low to stable so the states aren't tackling with rising costs of services due to explosive growth like other states. The transportation system/infrastructure in the region is ahead of those in the South. Agricultural lands of corn, wheat, and soybeans give the Midwest an advantage in terms of food supply for the population. The cost of living isn't off the roof like the Northeast or the West. The only concerns for the Midwest are drought and an increase in natural disasters as usual.
I predict serious shortages of water in the West and the Southwest so their growth will slow down eventually. The future for these regions is uncertain unless they come up with creative ways of getting more water.
I like the booming South/Sun Belt with lower cost of living; however, I am turned off by its more humid weather, higher average of poverty and uneducated population than the national average, openly religious population, and poor transportation system/infrastructure in cities outside Atlanta, Miami, and most Texas cities, etc.
I love the Midwest, especially Twin Cities metro in Minnesota. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could!
Last edited by UTVols865; 02-25-2012 at 11:46 PM..
If anyone has been paying any attention they would see the Midwest/Rust Belt is coming back. Slowly but surely diversification of the economy has taken place and several cities are attracting new residents with job availability, a lower cost of living and rebuilt/modern infrastructure offerings (mass transit for example). Pittsburgh's success is well-documented and now we're seeing Cleveland, St Louis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and even Detroit showing varying signs of rebirth while cities in the formerly thriving Sunbelt are struggling. Below is an interesting article about Detroit which illustrates how the downtown area is beginning to boom again.
What I think personally is that this is the era of older cities. As the poster above me pointed out, many of these cities have diversified their economy and are going through a transition that should ensure that they never go down the way they did again. It's not just in the Midwest or Great Lakes region but all over. These older cities are much more interesting than Sunbelt or other newer cities and people are rediscovering that. Look at what's happening in places like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and elsewhere. Twenty years ago do you honestly think anybody thought that those cities would get better let alone become destination cities?
People tend to forget that the only reason these cities declined in the first place is because of trends that happened nationally, not because the cities themselves were inferior. They also tend to forget how young the US is compared to other countries around the world and how short an amount of time even 100 years is when it comes to history. No city stays down forever, not even Detroit.
People tend to forget that the only reason these cities declined in the first place is because of trends that happened nationally, not because the cities themselves were inferior. They also tend to forget how young the US is compared to other countries around the world and how short an amount of time even 100 years is when it comes to history. No city stays down forever, not even Detroit.
No, it hasn't. It's been more like less than a hundred years. You don't know much about history if you think that Baghdad has always been the way it currently is.
So, despite the fact that I was referring to US cities or really just cities in countries that are independent and stable and haven't been in turmoil for almost a century or more, your correction was still inaccurate.
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