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Better in 2022 than 1992.
1992 was a bad time for LA city. People with money moved to one of the other 150+ surrounding suburbs where schools were better or streets safer, less gangs, drive by. The LA riots were 1992 no? Especially after Rodney king trail. LA city received most new immigrants from Latin America and Asia in 1980s and 1990s. Lots of groups trying to compete for cheap housing and apartments and neighborhoods. The black population in South LA were being slowly replaced by Hispanics. Areas around downtown were mainly immigrant neighborhoods of Asian and Mexican and central American. Schools were so overcrowded, poor quality ill maintained. The city was ill maintained probably because the residents were most poor working class, low education working in the manufacturing industry before China took all the world's jobs. While traffic was very bad, there was a recent new single rail line. Blue line from long Beach to downtown LA. No commuter rail lines. Smog was a problem, and smog alerts were common you can't p,ay outside at recess nor see mountains and skyline.
2022. Like many usa cities, the urban renewal prior to the 2008 recession and until today was big for LA. Remember how many educated and wealthy moved to suburbs, well the suburbs were too expensive and millennials moved to the city and established gentrification areas that then attracted young professionals and later affluent family types. Immigrants peaked in the 1990s as jobs left for China and housing became very expensive late 90s early 2000s but millennials hipsters could afford it. LA City and most of the county attracted less poor less educated and more wealthy, higher education people. Well anyone who can afford $700,000 homes and $2000 1 bedroom rents. Gang life reduced significantly and overall crime went down. Homeless grew like many cities. The city has shifted. Places like Downtown, Hollywood, theeast sfv valley,, Koreatown, echo park, Venice, mid city others were not desirable in 1992, but today these areas are popular trendy, high rents, high home prices. New restaurants, New cafes, New dense walkable neighborhood features.lots of new bars, nightlife in many areas. Downtown saw skyscrapers, New hotels bars restaurants. There are so many new metro lines, commuter rail lines. New museums, New airport expan. New media likenetflix Amazon video, youtube companies. New bridges, expanded airport. New soccer teams stadium, NFL stadium and 2 teams.
Better in 2022 than 1992.
1992 was a bad time for LA city. People with money moved to one of the other 150+ surrounding suburbs where schools were better or streets safer, less gangs, drive by. The LA riots were 1992 no? Especially after Rodney king trail. LA city received most new immigrants from Latin America and Asia in 1980s and 1990s. Lots of groups trying to compete for cheap housing and apartments and neighborhoods. The black population in South LA were being slowly replaced by Hispanics. Areas around downtown were mainly immigrant neighborhoods of Asian and Mexican and central American. Schools were so overcrowded, poor quality ill maintained. The city was ill maintained probably because the residents were most poor working class, low education working in the manufacturing industry before China took all the world's jobs. While traffic was very bad, there was a recent new single rail line. Blue line from long Beach to downtown LA. No commuter rail lines. Smog was a problem, and smog alerts were common you can't p,ay outside at recess nor see mountains and skyline.
2022. Like many usa cities, the urban renewal prior to the 2008 recession and until today was big for LA. Remember how many educated and wealthy moved to suburbs, well the suburbs were too expensive and millennials moved to the city and established gentrification areas that then attracted young professionals and later affluent family types. Immigrants peaked in the 1990s as jobs left for China and housing became very expensive late 90s early 2000s but millennials hipsters could afford it. LA City and most of the county attracted less poor less educated and more wealthy, higher education people. Well anyone who can afford $700,000 homes and $2000 1 bedroom rents. Gang life reduced significantly and overall crime went down. Homeless grew like many cities. The city has shifted. Places like Downtown, Hollywood, theeast sfv valley,, Koreatown, echo park, Venice, mid city others were not desirable in 1992, but today these areas are popular trendy, high rents, high home prices. New restaurants, New cafes, New dense walkable neighborhood features.lots of new bars, nightlife in many areas. Downtown saw skyscrapers, New hotels bars restaurants. There are so many new metro lines, commuter rail lines. New museums, New airport expan. New media likenetflix Amazon video, youtube companies. New bridges, expanded airport. New soccer teams stadium, NFL stadium and 2 teams.
Chicago - without echoing the prior poster's comments
1992: City was dirty. Parking was cheap. Wrigleyville an incredible experience. Cabrini Green projects were notorious no man's lands. Wicker Park still had gangs but great live music. Logan Square not remotely an attraction. Bridgeport and Pilsen were not attractions. River North had a great arts scene. Water Tower such a fun mall. Roger's Park felt grimy. Michigan Avenue was special even if just to window shop, visit the Disney and Nike stores.
2022: City much cleaner. All the above neighborhoods are safer with some hiccups west of Damen pink (Pilsen) and parts of Roger's Park still. Cabrini is gone with Division road fully stable from the lake until Humboldt Park, minus some characters by Mark Twain apartments. River North arts scene shrank and is much more high end (by Chicago brown), with an older crowd patronizing. Michigan Avenue and Water Tower on the decline but still attractions.
Even then, Toronto has really grown tremendously between 1992-2022, especially 2010 onwards where the growth has been on steroids. Probably the most remarkable between U.S/Canadian cities.
Memphis isn't that different except for in downtown the rise of South Main and Harbor Town.
South Main is beginning to feel like a genuine neighborhood, filled with new apartment buildings and converted warehouses and lots of restaurants. Now fancy hotels are coming in and they are tying in the riverfront park more directly to the Beale Street/South Main/Peabody area. It's genuinely a cool, urbane place that is directly in downtown.
Harbor Town has thrived on Mud Island with a vibrant riverfront park and is arguably the best place to live in Memphis.
The other big change since the early 90s has been the rise of neighboring DeSoto County, Mississippi. In 1992 there were a few subdivisions and maybe a K-Mart. Today brand-new interstates have been built and there has been tremendous growth in residential areas. They have some of the top schools in the state and are now beginning to build cultural venues in various ways. This will be a place that in another 30 years will show a huge change.
Chicago
Crime in Chicago and all American cities was far worse in the early 90s. Some of the worst when it came to homicides.
I would say Chicago had more prestige in America, but is now more known internationally as a destination.
In America MJ was huge and Oprah. Probably the two most important men and women in the entertainment industry.
That said, Cabrina, Robert Taylor, go down the Dan Ryan, housing projects left and right, all gone.
2022
Skyline better than ever
Riverwalk and Mil Park didnt exist
Neighborhoods for most all better
Mag Mile last few years is only place that has lost its luster.
QUOTE=westburbsil;63733369]Chicago
Crime in Chicago and all American cities was far worse in the early 90s. Some of the worst when it came to homicides.
I would say Chicago had more prestige in America, but is now more known internationally as a destination.
In America MJ was huge and Oprah. Probably the two most important men and women in the entertainment industry.
That said, Cabrina, Robert Taylor, go down the Dan Ryan, housing projects left and right, all gone.
2022
Skyline better than ever
Riverwalk and Mil Park didnt exist
Neighborhoods for most all better
Mag Mile last few years is only place that has lost its luster.[/quote]
Completely disagree with this. In the 90’s Chicago was much more solidly established as the #3 city in the US, and was also more popular internationally for the reasons you mentioned (MJ, Oprah, Sears and Hancock were premier US skyscrapers, very visible in films, etc).
Chicago is now known globally for its crime, first and foremost in terms of a pop-culture reputation (if you mention Chicago internationally, this is a reputation of Chicago. Not the only one for sure, but a pop-culture reputation).
Nowadays, Chicago has is no longer the clear-cut #3 city in the US. SF, DC, and Boston all also have claims to the #3 spot depending on how they are being evaluated. This is both US and internationally. And there is a large portion of the country that hates Chicago. It’s the poster city of what’s wrong with the left, from the right’s perspective (not saying this is true, but half of the country is totally turned off by Chicago).
So internationally and nationally, Chicago has dropped a good bit. No longer a clear cut #3 city. It shares the third tier with many other cities nowadays vs in the 90s.
From 1992 to now, the city shifted from majority Portuguese/Azores which is classified as "white non-Hispanic" and 5% Hispanic to 22% Hispanic. The demographics for education level and poverty rate haven't changed much. It's a different recent immigrant group. The downtown area and waterfront are massively gentrified now but the people using those businesses are largely suburban or tourists. The middle class residential parts of the city are more polished than 30 years ago. The downtrodden triple decker tenement building sections of the city are worse than ever as the neighborhoods shifted from Portuguese owner-occupied to Section 8. Commuter rail to Boston is coming so there is some chance that the downtrodden parts walkable to the commuter rail station will gentrify.
So the Boston prosperity worked both ways. It displaced the poorest in Boston to the downtrodden outer cities. It also spiffed up the more affluent parts of the city.
I'm in a 1%er harbor village a few miles from the city. The gated oceanfront summer communities, white collar professional housing, and semi-rural estates have exploded. It's a very stark contrast to New Bedford a couple miles from my house.
Interesting responses about Tucson, Baltimore, and Memphis not changing much or possibly gown down a bit since 1992. I was only just recently in Baltimore last year and Memphis back in February for the first time ever so don't really have a point of comparison for either city.
I liked both (especially Memphis), but they did seem a quite rough around the edges and didn't stray too far from downtown/Edge District in Memphis and the Inner Harbor/Fells Point/Federal Hill in Baltimore. I was in Baltimore during a high point of the pandemic and all the restaurants and shops were closed down and could only drink and eat outside so I will give it a pass, but despite that there was still a fair amount of activity downtown. I was glad the American Visionary Art Museum was open at the very least which was a very interesting museum indeed (they had a most fascinating art exhibit on sleep when I was there).
Downtown Memphis had more construction going on than I really anticipated and was a bit surprised by that, but it was very quiet when I was there despite the weather being super nice. There were only a few other people at Wiseacre brewing when I went, but a decent crowd for the tour of Sun Studio. Got panhandled more in Memphis than anywhere else in the US I have been which was annoying, but didn't detract from my visit too much. Tucson I have not been to and would not have guessed that..
Tucson doesn't change much. It's grungy and unkempt, and it's not until you get outside the city into the suburbs of Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita, etc., that you see development - and lots of it.
That's part of what Tucsonans see as the charm of the place; they are highly resistant to change of any sort. The only thing that's happened here is that a little streetcar line was constructed and there's been some development right next to it (of course, forced by the urban planner bureaucrats) - but because Tucson's leadership decreed that all the buses and the streetcar are free (because it's discriminatory to make people pay something to ride the bus), the only people who ride are the homeless and those who don't have a vehicle and must take public transit. Therefore, the above-market-rate apartments and condos built next to the streetcar line are filled with people who don't ride it.
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