Fastest Dying Cities in America article -Ohio has 4 of 10 (Columbus: credit, school)

[Kentstate57]

Strange. When I was growing up, Canton called itself "The City of Diversified Industries." If one had a slump, others would probably be o.k.
So what happened?

[chikaranotori]

canton wasn't as diverse as it thought it was. just one domino fell and the others followed.

maybe now, they will embrace that title and change for the better.

[tjoseph]

I think these cities, along with the rest of the state and midwest, will turn around within the next couple of years. Everything seems to be how people are moving south, especially to Texas, Houston in particular....almost everything down there is oil & gas....with the push for "going green"..(see my post from rustbelt to greenbelt.) It will happen. I am originally from Houston and I miss living there (except for summers) but as they have had such an influx of people moving in due to the economy, crime, etc has really taken off..I still have family down there and the things they tell me...from illegals standing behind vehicles as they pull out of parking spaces so that they will get hit in order to sue...to break ins happening and people being murdered in their sleep...no thanks

[Traveler87]

I really wouldn't go with anything forbes says. Just not the best place to go to for the "facts."

As an urban planner I have been across the country and seen what other cities are going through. Trust me, its not all that great out there. Cities across the country are seeing the same thing. I don't care what you say, it is quite obvious, esp when I am sitting there listening to the city councils describe their city's problems.

Cities out west are watching urban sprawl eat away out their countryside, no real downtown, and things are growing so fast, their infrastructure is terrible. Phoenix has no real light rail, it is now under construction, a metro of millions, and no light rail! That is terrible. Trust me, Ohio cities are on the rebound, and its quite obvious with multi billion dollar projects going on in some of our cities.

[the_pines]

OOOOO so scary Dayton is dying. HALP MOM! Don't like Ohio cities? Or think they are going to die? Pack up and leave. See how that works. Ain't got time for people who can see true beauty beneath it all.

I'd rather live in a dying Dayton, if I had enough money to create things, than live anywhere else in the entire world. I would love nothing more on Earth than to comeback with money, and buy an abandoned building downtown and turn it in to a living space for myself, friends, travelers, and my three daughters if they wanted to come and stay with me. Then move on and try my best to not just help the area, but to do it with my dreams.

Maybe someday.

[gaebie]

The ranking on Forbes are close to correct. But put things in perspective...

What were the FASTEST growing cities 50-80 years ago? The same ones on the fastest dying list today. The cities growing fastest today, where will they be 50 years from now? And what is the greatest need of many of these cities today? Water. In the coming decades people in those cities will be coming back to the Great Lakes cities for this one reason.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by gaebie

The ranking on Forbes are close to correct. But put things in perspective...

What were the FASTEST growing cities 50-80 years ago? The same ones on the fastest dying list today. The cities growing fastest today, where will they be 50 years from now? And what is the greatest need of many of these cities today? Water. In the coming decades people in those cities will be coming back to the Great Lakes cities for this one reason.

Water may be the greatest need in some cities, but I think it is overstated for cities in the south like Atlanta & Charlotte. All it takes is one tropical storm or hurricane to come through (like Fay has offered the past couple days), and our resovoirs and lakes are nearing normal after the past couple dry summers. We've gotten a lot of heavy rain storms the past month or two in Columbia. Now cities in the southwest like Phoenix, you probably have a point there. One thing Ohio can't offer is abundance of sun and mild weather year-round, which is why people continually are migrating south and west. I think the cities in Ohio & Michigan need to really start embracing the alternative energy industry to help turn them around, I know they are pushing it here in South Carolina. But hopefully in 50 years, Canton, Cleveland & Youngstown are success stories of cities that were once great, survived a downturn and found a way to reinvent themselves into great communities again.

[hillside]

it's not as simple as 50 years. the south was, and still is, recovering from the civil war, and was down until the 70's. to name one city, cincinnati has been in steady decline since 1870. what is going to replace all of the lost jobs and underpaying gigs that contributes to ohio's decline? the suburbanization of ohio is only going to get worse.

[Humlermw]

Originally Posted by hillside

it's not as simple as 50 years. the south was, and still is, recovering from the civil war, and was down until the 70's. to name one city, cincinnati has been in steady decline since 1870. what is going to replace all of the lost jobs and underpaying gigs that contributes to ohio's decline? the suburbanization of ohio is only going to get worse.

How is Cincinnati in a steady decline when it is gaining population not only in the city proper, but in the outlying communities as well. We are up to 332,000 when by this point we were supposed to be at 309,000 and the mayor thinks the population may be as high as 375,000 which all indicate a significant increase in population and not a decline. I admit it's the first increase in decades but an increase nontheless. Also Cincinnati didn't make that list, I wonder why?

[loose cannon]

Ron Jaworski is from Youngstown Ohio. While he became a football star in Philly, and now is a well known NFL sportscaster, he should invest in his fallen town.