What will Toledo, Ohio look like...in say 10, 15 or 20 years ?

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by nickw252

There is probably a reason why New York City has no Wal-Marts

Yeah, it's a more liberal city that habors negative views of Wal-Mart. Target has stores in Brooklyn and Queens. Recall that it took Wal-Mart a long time to break into Toledo.

[ZnGuy]

I've lived in CLE and COL and Philly and now Charlotte and travel heavily thru midwest for 30 years. 15 years ago I used to go to TOL on business and hated it, I considered it 'little Detroit' and lots of crime areas and downtown has nothing (haven't seen new Mudhens park but that's not enoth to excite) and remember the short live Portside. I used to stay downtown the the hotels were run down. Their are a few nice old suburbs but why would you want to live in a Metro area that is a combat zone. I'd suspect that that the area would continue to erode and the families with money will live in nice suburbia and the welfare state will take over the city and the union jobs will leave the area.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by ZnGuy

.... a Metro area that is a combat zone. .

For crying out loud, get real. There's no statistical evidence to back that up. Is Toledo a rust belt town that's experienced decay and has a economy in the crapper right now? Sure. But it's not Gary or Detroit. Or Flint, for that matter.

[Bear Up North]

Some of the dice would have to roll with the good numbers matching.....if they would, here's what Toledo (Metro Toledo) could look like in 20 years.....

Population Details
As the metro continued to prosper in the 2020s the population finally stopped dropping and started to slowly increase. The word "slowly" is right, as smaller family size trends continued. Biggest influx, younger singles, for career opportunities. Census 2030: Toledo, 297,000 and the Metro, 800,000. Big influence on the metro jump.....a decision to include southern Monroe County, MI, in the Toledo SMA, exiting Detroit's SMA.

Regional Government
Using solid examples such as Indianapolis and Louisville, Toledo focused on a blend of central city government and regional government. Many overlapping and costly government units (and employees) were merged, allowing individual cities and villages to retain their distinctions. As regional government units worked out the bugs, higher tax rates began to lose their appeal (and their need). Corporate heads see these things.....and they started to invest in Regional Toledo.

Automobiles, Plastics, Alternative Energy, Distribution
At some point in the mid 2010 decade the automobile industry in the USA kicked back into high gear. But that kick was with plants and organizations that worked day-and-night to automate the business process while providing a standard of living wage that was competitive (but not a job killer). Because of the continuing focus on producing lightweight vehicles, the automobile parts business (that Toledo was always famous for) jump-started, especially in plastics.

In the field of alternative energy the community continued to benefit from inroads that started in the early parts of the new century. Strong support from the educational community provided a steady stream of technical support and people, further solidifying the alt-energy business. In 2018, with the support of a strong-voiced regional government, a significant number of wind turbines were erected in Maumee Bay.

Because of the region's proximity to great land, air, and water transportation, the area continued a 1990's trend by adding more large distribution centers. Helping this cause was a center-of-the-USA-population pushpin that was moving back to the north and the east.....primarily because of the high costs of water.

The Port of Toledo continued to prosper. Largest reason was the movement of containers to-and-from Toledo on large lake ships.....movingv those containers to a facility on the St. Lawrence River, where they were being transferred to-and-from ocean-going vessels.

Hip Toledo
As the area continued to prosper, the large influx of younger people produced a dynamic and demographic change. In addition to their normal routines, these folks wanted more to do than "go to the mall" or "catch a movie". With the help of a positive view on the internet, Toledo grew to be "hip". Residents and newcomers alike understood that Toledo was not Portland, Austin, or Denver. But it was a much-less-expensive place to reside that provided the same hip types of offerings. Cool, man.

Downtown Toledo also prospered, as younger residents gobbled-up flats and lofts. Retail followed, creating a central city that was no longer a place where the sidewalks were rolled-up at 6:00 PM.

Summary
Neat thread, asking what a place would be like in 20 years. Naysayers will read my thoughts and chuckle. This Bear strongly believes that everything listed is quite possible.

Roll them dice.

Bear

[On-da-Beach]

Bear, I admire your optimism...but I'm chuckling. My friends and family have either already left T-town or are wanting out.

[lastonestanding]

Well regardless of how it will look in 15 to 20 years, the Rockets beating Colorado on nationwide Television is a plus... GO ROCKETS!!!!!

[lasvegasfanforever]

Toledo will still be the same left behind like we are know that's why people are moving outta here I will be right behind them,It will be like Youngstown ,Ohio give it time or worse.

[BelieveInCleve]

Originally Posted by lasvegasfanforever

Toledo will still be the same left behind like we are know that's why people are moving outta here I will be right behind them,It will be like Youngstown ,Ohio give it time or worse.

Worse than Youngstown?...

In 2007 Toledo had 12 murders with a murder rate of 4/per100k (lower than the US average).
In 2007 Youngstown had 42 murders with a murder rate of 55/per100k (10X+ the US average).

Even given that was a good year for Toledo and a bad year for Youngstown it shows how much worse Youngstown is. Youngstown has also lost 57% of it's peak population and is continuing to lose at a high rate while Toledo has only lost 17% of its peak population and is stabilizing.

[lastonestanding]

Originally Posted by BelieveInCleve

Worse than Youngstown?...

In 2007 Toledo had 12 murders with a murder rate of 4/per100k (lower than the US average).
In 2007 Youngstown had 42 murders with a murder rate of 55/per100k (10X+ the US average).

Even given that was a good year for Toledo and a bad year for Youngstown it shows how much worse Youngstown is. Youngstown has also lost 57% of it's peak population and is continuing to lose at a high rate while Toledo has only lost 17% of its peak population and is stabilizing.

Actually the population is not stabilizing. Its still declining. When the 2010 census comes out you will see the real numbers, not the numbers from Carty challenging the census bureau in 2007. You can't compare how bad a city is based on its murder rate. And yes that was a good year as far as homicides in the city, however my cousin was one of those 12 murdered victims. The idea of me not ever seeing my fam again is devastating regardless of what anyone thinks. I do disagree with the previous post of saying Toledo will be like Youngstown, but when you factor in all the recent job lost, police layoffs, increase in crime and Toledo's unemployment rate which is the second highest in the state behind Youngstown, then you can see where some of these post are coming from. Also take into account that out of the largest cities in the state, Toledo has the least number of drug-related homicides which contributes to its low homicide rate. I dont care what city you live in, alot of the homicides in the inner cities of America are mostly drug related.

[movingon2vegas]

I left Toledo last year and now my daughter and I live in Vegas baby!! All of my family is still there. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met who are from Ohio or Detroit!! I meet more people in Vegas then I did back home!! LMBO (yeah an exaggeration but… you get the point).
I read an article a few years ago talking about the “brain drain” in Toledo. Saying when people graduate they always leave because there’s no jobs!! Toledo was a good place to raise kids, meaning just a nice place for kids to grow up. NOT a nice place to "raise" as in pay for kids though!! LMBO I think the job market sucked and I’m sure it sucks even more now. When I was there it was work for Jeep, Ford or Hydromatic or at a hospital. Other then that… good luck!!
I guess the same can be said about many places in the US though.

So far I LOVE Vegas and if I don’t see snow again (expect on TV or up in the mountains) I will be FINE with it. lol I will trade 3 months of “hot as hell” and 9 months of beautiful weather over the snow ANYDAY. The only thing that can make me come back is immediate family. lol

P.S. Can SOMEONE send me some Gino’s PLEASE!!! The pizza here does NOT compare. lol