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.
It is pretty clear on the whole that where the largest African American growth is occurring has nothing to do with transit or walkability. Even in places up north, there is no drive to be in places that are walkable. The demographic as a whole overwhelmingly prefers suburban environments or places down South/Phoenix/Vegas where they can have a house with a yard in the city. The data overwhelmingly reflects this.
Thing is, there are LOTS of places up north where they could have the same. Upstate NY is a great example. It makes me think weather is a huge draw as well.
You are trying to make me go into my bag…I’ve mentioned many Upstate NY cities where the black population has grown many times over within city limits.
This doesn’t include smaller cities/bigger villages such as Cohoes, Endicott, Johnson City and Watervliet that are in the Albany and Binghamton areas, that are walkable and have had explosive growth in their black populations(among others): https://s4.ad.brown.edu/projects/div...cityid=3616749
So, there is a migration to smaller and mid sized cities in Upstate NY with walkability, that has come by way of movement from bigger Northeastern/Midwestern cities, the military(Watertown and Rome in the past), direct migration from the South, immigration/refugee relocation, job relocation, to attend college and stay, etc. I’d say that this is largely AA growth and isn’t even counting black Hispanics. This doesn’t include the growth in some of the other suburbs/small towns either.
This also not considering those that have moved South(Atlanta, Charlotte and DC are big with black Upstate NYers) and other places(Boston seems to be popular lately).
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 05-18-2023 at 08:47 AM..
Savannah does a much better job in my opinion of historic preservation AND making the older parts of the city feel like an actual city people live in. Sure both cities have their tourist element to them, but Charleston to me seems a little more attuned to that across the board.
Just an aside here: Visiting Charleston with my family of four last year, I was pretty let down by the food scene. The core of the city is so universally upscale there were almost no kid-friendly places even open for dinner. Literally everything was one of those small menu places with limited options, extremely expensive, or a café that closed after lunch. Even finding stuff like Chinese takeout was hard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redlionjr
So why are Black people especially Black Urbanist not moving to those safe walkable, transit friendly suburbs in cities like Chicago or Philly? I specifically said those 2 cities because they're still pretty affordable yet have little growth compared to sunbelt cities like Atlanta, Houston, DFW, Charlotte.
I've looked into those suburbs specifically in Chicago and Philly and I was surprise to see how small the black populations were in those walkable transit safe suburbs compared to safe nice suburbs in the 4 sunbelt cities I mentioned.
The problem is, it's just that it's a drop in the bucket when you consider the black flight from the remainder of the South Side, and even more the smaller West Side (which is slowly flipping over to Latino).
Philly does not have anything similar - a "back to the city" movement spawned by black professionals. But there are stable middle-class black neighborhoods on the fringes of West Philly (like Wynnefield) and North Philly (like East Oak Lane), along with in Northwest Philly (Mt. Airy).
Come on it’s not their fault; it’s not that bad. We can’t hate on them for existing.
Considering Charleston was always an old money city; even back in the day those old townhomes would have been the city homes of the wealthy planter class. It was always rich and white so this is no different. The blacks would have been on the periphery then and now; the income and class divide is probably so large that the blacks that do live in the region don’t feel comfortable hanging around; and that sucks.
A place like New Orleans is large enough not to notice that the same class exists in the core of that city as well. Urban Charleston is just compact so you notice it more imo.
We should celebrate that white residents of one of the most suburban regions in the US have embraced urban living; hopefully they learn something from it and apply it; particularly the developers and government people that vacation down there. It’s more than just a Williamsburg creation type place; it’s a legit city with colleges, history and culture.
Steven Colbert is famously from Charleston btw so they’re not all stuffy.
Many cities were old money like that but have become more integrated. You would think with Black incomes rising that intown Charleston would have an increase of Black grads (say from UofSC) who want an urban lifestyle but dont want to be too far from home.
As for your Colbert comment, it obviously depends on what you define as stuffy. Colbert is a classic limo liberal (so stuffy), and not a person Black America looks up to at all, so interesting call out there... Especially considering Colbert's heritage in the area likely traces back to when jewish people (Colbert is jewish) were the major slave traders in the region (and by the way, Blacks were in the low country before slave trading too but I digress).
So for many many Blacks, their bloodlines have been in the America's for hundreds of years even without slavery, so not too surprising that many of their offspring who spread out into the country are "coming back home" generations later.
Location: The Greatest city on Earth: City of Atlanta Proper
8,485 posts, read 14,990,056 times
Reputation: 7333
Quote:
Originally Posted by As Above So Below...
It is pretty clear on the whole that where the largest African American growth is occurring has nothing to do with transit or walkability. Even in places up north, there is no drive to be in places that are walkable. The demographic as a whole overwhelmingly prefers suburban environments or places down South/Phoenix/Vegas where they can have a house with a yard in the city. The data overwhelmingly reflects this.
Thing is, there are LOTS of places up north where they could have the same. Upstate NY is a great example. It makes me think weather is a huge draw as well.
I mean, sure, who wants to deal with winter in upstate New York but also what?
All of those places lack the economic opportunities that you find in the Sunbelt and are just straight sad to anyone not from there unless they leave, and lot of people do. I mean, have you been to Buffalo? I couldn’t get to the Canadian side fast enough.
I mean, sure, who wants to deal with winter in upstate New York but also what?
All of those places lack the economic opportunities that you find in the Sunbelt and are just straight sad to anyone not from there unless they leave, and lot of people do. I mean, have you been to Buffalo? I couldn’t get to the Canadian side fast enough.
This will vary depending on one’s skills/education, etc. If anything, black people not originally from Upstate NY that move to Upstate NY seem to do quite well, especially if they are halfway mobile.
It’s appeal is that they are legacy cities with amenities from a time when the cities/metros were rated higher in population, there is minimal traffic, laid back for Northeastern areas, generally have good schools/educational opportunities in the metros, offers easy access to outdoor activities/amenities(water, mountains, islands, etc.), proximity to Bos-Wash and/or major Canadian cities(Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal), 4 seasons, generally family friendly, relatively affordable, walkability in parts of the cities/suburbs and the bigger cities can be close enough to where you can visit each(Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse are all with a couple hour stretch), among other possible factors.
“Just an aside here: Visiting Charleston with my family of four last year, I was pretty let down by the food scene. The core of the city is so universally upscale there were almost no kid-friendly places even open for dinner. Literally everything was one of those small menu places with limited options, extremely expensive, or a café that closed after lunch. Even finding stuff like Chinese takeout was hard.”
I wish you’d consulted with me, eschaton. I don’t do tapas, I save the exorbitant for special occasions, and there’s Chinese takeout here.
“Just an aside here: Visiting Charleston with my family of four last year, I was pretty let down by the food scene. The core of the city is so universally upscale there were almost no kid-friendly places even open for dinner. Literally everything was one of those small menu places with limited options, extremely expensive, or a café that closed after lunch. Even finding stuff like Chinese takeout was hard.”
I wish you’d consulted with me, eschaton. I don’t do tapas, I save the exorbitant for special occasions, and there’s Chinese takeout here.
I put a post up in the Charleston forum looking for some ideas. Not sure if you saw it, but I would appreciate your insight.
^Are places like North Charleston, Goose Creek and Summerville seeing increases in their black populations?
Goose Creek very much so and Summerville pretty much so. Not North Charleston anymore, at only 1% growth in black population from 2010 to 2020. N. Charleston has gotten a lot more expensive.
I put a post up in the Charleston forum looking for some ideas. Not sure if you saw it, but I would appreciate your insight.
I’ll take a look.
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.
