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Which of these cities will fare the best over the next 20-30 years? Mainly focusing in terms of economics (job growth, wage growth, poverty reduction) as well as social focuses like drug usage. I guess I'm asking which city would you personally find more desirable to live in as a working professional 20-30 years from now and why.
These cities have all seen some form of population loss over the recent decades and are in states that are known for high taxes and high cost of living.
Providence I think... its close to Boston, whch is the 2nd fastest growing city between NYC, BOS, PHL, DC, and BAL.
In the next 20 years Providence will have:
-A 600ft tower
-High-Speed Rail service to Boston in just about 40 minutes, at good frequency
-It has the bones to grow over 200k people.
-TF Green growth as BOS comes to a limit, you'll start seeing more airlines shift there as we saw before the MAX groundings.
-Providence is emerging as a nightclub hub and great scene for the LGBT populace
-The amount of blight has been significantly reduced since 2010, and will continue to do so.
The only city thats better than Boston (Best city in the world) to live in? Providence... and I think Providence will see that translate to growth as RI becomes more attractive.
Sometimes I think on how corrupt RI's govt is and I wonder what the state would be like if it merged with MA...
I think all of them have their pluses to be honest, but I think what is appealing about Albany is its Tech Sector has seen growth in recent years and it actually has been reducing some of the things you've mentioned(reduced poverty rate by 3% from 2016 to 2017). It also has multiple urban, walk able communities nearby as well(in Schenectady, Troy, etc.). Its Housing Opportunity Index right behind Hartford's, which is the best out of the 4: https://www.nahb.org/News-and-Econom...ortunity-Index (complete listing by Affordability section)
You still have train access into NYC and you are close to mountains, as well as lakes. So, it has a nice balance as well.
Brightest future based on those metrics/scale of improvement:
New Haven>Hartford>Providence> Albany
There's a pretty big difference between what's the best city overall now (Providence) and who will far the best on term of economics, drug abuse, mental health, education in the future (New Haven).
Everything Massachoicetts said is true. But Providence like many new england cities has managed to mainstream/normalize/functionalize poverty.
I don't think Providence has a great shot at boosting its local employment options, reducing poverty significantly and definitely not stemming drug usage.It suburbs aren't as numerous/permeable for the lower classes as the ones surrounding New Haven (West Haven Hamden Ansonia Derby Meriden). And i don't know how much more synergy can really be had between boston and Providence. People put up with a lot of BS to stay in central boston/cambrdge and burbs to the north and west..not so much the south. The Boston to Providence synergy is more based in people with lower incomes/local roots.
New Haven has a better shot at all f those things just based off the political and social environment being more stringent and economically driven in CT, whereas Providence is more about entertainment and lifestyle. Add to this New Haven is the cultural hub of a much larger and more significant state with direct connections to NYC, FFC, Hartford and Springfield via Rail. New Haven has reduced crime to very manageable levels already and done so very quickly. New Haven also has the best and most desirable residential housing stock (providence has ma more historic/pretty downtown) very few rundown triple deckers/large brick apartment buildings.
Hartford has the most development going on right now and has the best bones for large scale economic redevelopment/wage and employment growth. It has the downtown that is most likely to house high earning young professionals in the next 30 years. Hartford gotten new grocery stores, food halls, BRT, rail, UCOnn Campus, Stadium, and more in the past ~6 years and keeps building. Its starting from the lowest point so **** improvement will probably look more drastic than Providences which is already a nice city.
Albany is the smallest, least dynamic, least diverse and most geographically isolated. Those factors plus its reliance on NY State government (a state that shrinking substantially) will put a real cap on its potential. It's a nice middle and lower middle class city s is whose issues aren't as deep as those other cities.
If you look at education level in the MSA and assume that’s highly correlated with economic success in the 21st century, Albany and Hartford are pretty much tied at the top. Then New Haven. Providence is far back. Unless Providence gentrifies quickly as a Boston extended suburb, I’d expect the local economy to remain in the dumpster due to the inadequate labor force. It’s hard to say with Yale and New Haven gentrification. I’d say metro Hartford will have the most private sector growth. Albany the most overall growth because of the much bigger public sector in the New York State capital.
If you look at education level in the MSA and assume that’s highly correlated with economic success in the 21st century, Albany and Hartford are pretty much tied at the top. Then New Haven. Providence is far back. Unless Providence gentrifies quickly as a Boston extended suburb, I’d expect the local economy to remain in the dumpster due to the inadequate labor force. It’s hard to say with Yale and New Haven gentrification. I’d say metro Hartford will have the most private sector growth. Albany the most overall growth because of the much bigger public sector in the New York State capital.
but Providence ais already the most desirable of these cities to live in.
The MSA is another animal and i don't think it fits into this type of poll question well.
Providence I think... its close to Boston, whch is the 2nd fastest growing city between NYC, BOS, PHL, DC, and BAL.
In the next 20 years Providence will have:
-A 600ft tower
-High-Speed Rail service to Boston in just about 40 minutes, at good frequency
-It has the bones to grow over 200k people.
-TF Green growth as BOS comes to a limit, you'll start seeing more airlines shift there as we saw before the MAX groundings.
-Providence is emerging as a nightclub hub and great scene for the LGBT populace
-The amount of blight has been significantly reduced since 2010, and will continue to do so.
The only city thats better than Boston (Best city in the world) to live in? Providence... and I think Providence will see that translate to growth as RI becomes more attractive.
Sometimes I think on how corrupt RI's govt is and I wonder what the state would be like if it merged with MA...
Few questions/comments:
1. Regarding the first part about your post in terms of Providence being the 2nd fastest growing city: is that really relevant when the rest of those cities you named are much, much larger? I guess the way I see it it's kind of apples to oranges.
2. I think Providence's reputation as being gay-friendly and accepting is a major plus for the city in terms of future growth.
3. In terms of blight, are the areas in the southern part of the city seeing progress? I always hear that these areas of the city are "left behind".
4. I feel like the only "major" thing Providence has going for it is its proximity to Boston. Similar to what the CT suburbs of NYC have seen, I definitely think Providence will see some growth just based off of commuters who work in Boston. I just wonder if Providence is almost too tied Boston's growth/success.
Not trying to get on your nerves at all, just giving my opinion as someone who has an outsider's view. I've visited Boston/Providence several times, but haven't ever lived there.
That has nothing to do with the economy and growth. No Boston employer is going to move to Providence. The labor force is lousy.
I would have to agree. Not sure that lousy is the right term but you just don't have the same sort of educational institutions in Providence that you find in Boston. At least in terms of colleges/universities that produce students who are highly advanced in "hard" skills (STEM).
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