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Which U.S. cities do you think are currently experiencing a renaissance period, or just starting to?
I'm talking about cities that have seen better days in the past, but are now just starting to make a comeback, within the U.S. and may possibly have a bright future.
I think that thanks to the tech boom in Silicon Valley, which is pushing nearby housing prices into the stratosphere, Oakland CA is in something of a renaissance, attracting more educated and affluent newcomers. It also has easy access to San Francisco, its own rich history and cultural identity, great ethnic diversity -- and yes, still a lot of poverty and high crime in some neighborhoods.
I could understand Pittsburgh and Oakland to some extent.
But wait a minute. Did Seattle boom in the past, and then go downhill, and now it's going uphill? I was under the impression that Seattle was on an uphill incline for over a century.
Most cities are becoming too expensive. The new renaissance cities will be the burbs, towns in rural areas, or the Midwest. The glitter of trendy urban living and the Sunbelt is losing its luster. Disagree? Almost every post inquiring about a new location includes the word "affordable".
Cleveland most definitely. $10+ billion in investment in the last 10 years. The Cleveland Clinic, and our other large hospital systems and spin-off businesses are economic engines that are growing and thriving. Our manufacturing sector has largely transitioned into high-tech, and thus more productive. We have lost residents due to the decline of old-school manufacturing, but we have had brain-gain. Our young adult population with advanced degrees is ranked 8th in the US, ahead of Chicago. Our Downtown population has doubled in the past 10 years, and continues to grow, with most apartments having waiting lists. Many of our neighborhoods are on the upswing too. The fact that the Gay Games were here this year, and the 2016 RNC is coming here to the "mistake by the lake" is a testament to our renaissance.
FOOD
The gastronomy has evolved from old school hamburgers + Mexican, to a top of the list foodie destination city, with L.A. being home to the gourmet food truck movement (though, one can argue that Portland does it better) and a (bolder) neo-California cuisine that doesn't cater to the European sensibilities of the East Coast, but rather the Pan-Asian and Latin American flavors. I don't know if it is 'better' than New York, that is quite subjective, but it definitely has established itself as somewhere where chefs can be true artists and curators of their own master pieces (or disasters). The city allows for a level of experimentation not seen with the traditional vanguards. https://www.yahoo.com/travel/sorry-n...068605142.html Why Los Angeles Is the Best Food Town in America - The Daily Beast
Infrastructure
Since the early 1990's L.A.s metro went from zero to 100mph, with an ever expanding network and plans to double/triple the number of lines. If the city is able to secure federal funding (or perhaps even an Olympic bid for 2024), it would be able to fast track a lot of projects that right now are just 'ideas'. Already you can go, on the metro, to just about all of L.A.s most walkable neighborhoods/cities: Old town Pasadena, DTLA, Hollywood, North Hollywood, Koreatown, Long Beach, Culver City...and very soon, Santa Monica. I can't think of any other city that has added this much rail in the past two decades (if I am wrong, please correct me) http://a.scpr.org/i/64898d4b221a182c...78380-full.jpg
Redefining 'urbane' on its own terms
Los Angeles is not New York, nor will it ever be, nor do Angelenos want it to be (despite the influx of New Yorkers). The city is becoming increasingly more livable and urbane. Its neighborhoods, from Silver Lake to Abbot Kinney (Venice), as over hyped as they may be for many of us, are now the current definition of 'cool'. No longer the car oriented Sunset Strip, which is a shadow of its former self. The city has initiated reforms from fixing its decrepit roads, to innovative programs like Mayor Garcetti's "Great Streets." Then there are events like CicLAvia, which are changing the way Angelenos (and outsiders) view Los Angeles. Not to mention the resurgence of Downtown L.A., which is experiencing a renaissance of its own, from the Arts District to Broadway to South Park. GQ's Coolest Block In America: Abbot Kinney Takes The Cake http://www.laweekly.com/informer/201...-united-states The First 15 LA Streets Getting Big Great Streets Makeovers - Word on the Street - Curbed LA CicLAvia America's Next Great City Is Downtown L.A.
FOOD
The gastronomy has evolved from old school hamburgers + Mexican, to a top of the list foodie destination city, with L.A. being home to the gourmet food truck movement (though, one can argue that Portland does it better) and a (bolder) neo-California cuisine that doesn't cater to the European sensibilities of the East Coast, but rather the Pan-Asian and Latin American flavors. I don't know if it is 'better' than New York, that is quite subjective, but it definitely has established itself as somewhere where chefs can be true artists and curators of their own master pieces (or disasters). The city allows for a level of experimentation not seen with the traditional vanguards. https://www.yahoo.com/travel/sorry-n...068605142.html Why Los Angeles Is the Best Food Town in America - The Daily Beast
Infrastructure
Since the early 1990's L.A.s metro went from zero to 100mph, with an ever expanding network and plans to double/triple the number of lines. If the city is able to secure federal funding (or perhaps even an Olympic bid for 2024), it would be able to fast track a lot of projects that right now are just 'ideas'. Already you can go, on the metro, to just about all of L.A.s most walkable neighborhoods/cities: Old town Pasadena, DTLA, Hollywood, North Hollywood, Koreatown, Long Beach, Culver City...and very soon, Santa Monica. I can't think of any other city that has added this much rail in the past two decades (if I am wrong, please correct me) http://a.scpr.org/i/64898d4b221a182c...78380-full.jpg
Redefining 'urbane' on its own terms
Los Angeles is not New York, nor will it ever be, nor do Angelenos want it to be (despite the influx of New Yorkers). The city is becoming increasingly more livable and urbane. Its neighborhoods, from Silver Lake to Abbot Kinney (Venice), as over hyped as they may be for many of us, are now the current definition of 'cool'. No longer the car oriented Sunset Strip, which is a shadow of its former self. The city has initiated reforms from fixing its decrepit roads, to innovative programs like Mayor Garcetti's "Great Streets." Then there are events like CicLAvia, which are changing the way Angelenos (and outsiders) view Los Angeles. Not to mention the resurgence of Downtown L.A., which is experiencing a renaissance of its own, from the Arts District to Broadway to South Park. GQ's Coolest Block In America: Abbot Kinney Takes The Cake http://www.laweekly.com/informer/201...-united-states The First 15 LA Streets Getting Big Great Streets Makeovers - Word on the Street - Curbed LA CicLAvia America's Next Great City Is Downtown L.A.
But L.A. seems to be becoming wildly too large and expensive.
Every city has SOMETHING negative about it. I don't see how that effects it being in a renaissance.
Unless you're defining renaissance different I suppose.
I'll add Grand Rapids and Louisville to that list.
Buffalo - looking much better over the past 5 years or so
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