Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think people overexaggerate how their city or a shrinking city is coming back.
For example People love to say Cleveland is roaring back, and quickly regaining its footing, and overall just bursting at the seams, but if that where true, would it have lost 17.1% of its population? and would its metro be Shrinking?
not to say these cities are not improving I just think people are jumping the gun a bit.
and its not just Cleveland, its other cities too, llike Pittsburgh, and other "rustbelt" cities.
So true. It's not like kids graduating from high school or college are dreaming of moving to Cleveland, Buffalo or Pgh (all fine cities, btw) instead of NYC or LA.
Last edited by maxposure; 03-24-2012 at 12:38 PM..
It may be a bit overhyped, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
When everyone in a city has a negative attitude about where they are, and where things are going...things will spiral out of control. You need some of these positive boosters that "oversell" these notions to change people's minds. If everyone still assumes you're city is on the decline, that's going to stifle potential growth. In order for these old rust belt cities to stop the bleeding (and possibly start to grow again), the perception is going to have to change.
Right now, the perception of Detroit as a dying city is scary. When you look at the cities that are attempting to recover, and you see Detroit in a free fall...you wonder just where the bottom is.
The other cities, while they still may be losing some population, give me the feeling that they already bottomed out as far as hard times go, and are generally rebounding. Let's not forget that places like Philadelphia lost population for 5 decades, but most recently had a small gain.
I hope that all of these cities don't just stop the bleeding, but fully turn around.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,747 posts, read 23,809,943 times
Reputation: 14660
Quote:
Originally Posted by nashvols
It may be a bit overhyped, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
When everyone in a city has a negative attitude about where they are, and where things are going...things will spiral out of control. You need some of these positive boosters that "oversell" these notions to change people's minds. If everyone still assumes you're city is on the decline, that's going to stifle potential growth. In order for these old rust belt cities to stop the bleeding (and possibly start to grow again), the perception is going to have to change.
Right now, the perception of Detroit as a dying city is scary. When you look at the cities that are attempting to recover, and you see Detroit in a free fall...you wonder just where the bottom is.
The other cities, while they still may be losing some population, give me the feeling that they already bottomed out as far as hard times go, and are generally rebounding. Let's not forget that places like Philadelphia lost population for 5 decades, but most recently had a small gain.
I hope that all of these cities don't just stop the bleeding, but fully turn around.
I definitely agree. Though I don't have aspirations to transplant to one of the rust belt cities (climate being the biggest drawback for me), I am rooting for them. Many just seem to dismiss Detroit and say stick a fork in it. I hate that kind of apathy. I'm rooting for it and all the rustbelt cities to make a thriving comeback. With some of the worlds most abundant fresh water reserves, the region will no doubt be tapped into again. It's only a matter of time before water gets its weight worth in gold.
Pittsburgh is most definitely poised to make the quickest and strongest comeback as it already has in many respects. It's dignified cultural and educational institutions fuel the new economy there, and as another poster has previously mentioned its shale deposits will no doubt bring more prosperity to the region. It's a nice looking city, definitely one very unique topographical setting. I'm not sure what Detroit needs as it has sunken to abysmal levels of economic despair. I hope and pray that it may one day reach its potential again.
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
5,509 posts, read 11,874,502 times
Reputation: 2501
Quote:
Originally Posted by btownboss4
I think people overexaggerate how their city or a shrinking city is coming back.
For example People love to say Cleveland is roaring back, and quickly regaining its footing, and overall just bursting at the seams, but if that where true, would it have lost 17.1% of its population? and would its metro be Shrinking?
not to say these cities are not improving I just think people are jumping the gun a bit.
and its not just Cleveland, its other cities too, llike Pittsburgh, and other "rustbelt" cities.
Well, it's all relative, remember. "Roaring" compared to prior years maybe, but not "roaring" compared to cities like D.C, Dallas or Houston. You have to consider what the region has gone through (and for how long) and understand the perspective of where these statements are coming from. But yes, you aren't crazy and are pretty much spot on, but I wouldn't discredit the region's comeback, because it IS happening (albeit a little slower than people may be suggesting).
Take Chrysler for example - they should be completely out of the car business. You have some of the best designers, engineers, and workers you could ask for.
That's exactly why Chrysler's new cars are orders of magnitude better than the ones they've replaced. It helps that the new management actually lets those engineers do their ****ing jobs. That was the root of the problem with Daimler, and it's why you won't meet a single current or former Chrysler employee who enjoyed working for Daimler.
Overblown by whom? It seems that outside of this forum, you know, in the real world, most people casually and recklessly dismiss the Rust Belt as an undesirable has-been. It's only the geography geeks who are looking closer and saying "hey wait a minute, there's more to the story".
Mainstream consciousness is starting to shift, though. I'm seeing a major increase in interest in the Midwest among my ordinary non-geek friends. The Sunbelt just doesn't inspire people the same way after the housing crash has taken some of the glossy sheen off of those areas.
Yes, some posters do tend to oversell and cheerlead just a little too loud, but take away the slightly annoying delivery and it's good info, I kind of appreciate it. I'll admit I didn't realize how the region has changed until spending time on this forum, and I've corroborated a lot of their info and I'm very intrigued, I previously probably wouldn't have given visiting, let alone living in say Cleveland or Pittsburgh but I'm certainly more open to it now.
I agree with West that I often sense a little schadenfreude from some posters on some threads, be it directed to the Rust Belt or Sunbelt...it's off-putting and just plain wrong!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
