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So in my previous thread about the primaries, some were highly delusional thinking the trajectory of Greensboro merits an A+ rating as largely guided by the current regime. Welp the numbers are in … and they’re kinda sobering… I want the delusional members to explain. I’ll wait.
Greensboro, struggling to attract residents, hoping for a comeback
“This is according to new population data by the U.S. Census Bureau, which estimates that Greensboro has grown by a head-scratching 0.1% in the past year.
… Greensboro’s trend continues along a decade-long path of slower growth resulting from the Great Recession. While other cities such as Charlotte (19.6%), Raleigh (15.8%) and Durham (24.2%) saw significant growth between 2010 and 2020, Greensboro lagged well behind — by a mere 10.9%.”
All of the delusional supporters of the current regime, please, please explain …. Thank you .
So in my previous thread about the primaries, some were highly delusional thinking the trajectory of Greensboro merits an A+ rating as largely guided by the current regime. Welp the numbers are in … and they’re kinda sobering… I want the delusional members to explain. I’ll wait.
Greensboro, struggling to attract residents, hoping for a comeback
“This is according to new population data by the U.S. Census Bureau, which estimates that Greensboro has grown by a head-scratching 0.1% in the past year.
… Greensboro’s trend continues along a decade-long path of slower growth resulting from the Great Recession. While other cities such as Charlotte (19.6%), Raleigh (15.8%) and Durham (24.2%) saw significant growth between 2010 and 2020, Greensboro lagged well behind — by a mere 10.9%.”
All of the delusional supporters of the current regime, please, please explain …. Thank you .
Really weird post and your 2nd similar post bashing "delusional supporters of the current regime".
Frankly, 10.9% seems to be a fairly decent growth rate. Yes, it lags behind Durham, Charlotte, and Raleigh... but how does 10.9% compare against the field? The three aforementioned cities are three of the fastest growing in the country. Especially Durham and Charlotte.
None of this is to deny that Greensboro has pissed away more than its fair share of opportunities and has a number of elements that need improvement. But the current regime staying in power seems to have you legitimately angry... as if you've been personally wronged.
So in my previous thread about the primaries, some were highly delusional thinking the trajectory of Greensboro merits an A+ rating as largely guided by the current regime. Welp the numbers are in … and they’re kinda sobering… I want the delusional members to explain. I’ll wait.
...and if one isn't doing a retrospective specifically addressing the impact of major shifts on Greensboro's stagnation in the 80s and perhaps into the 90s, how long will we have to read about the demise of the textile, tobacco, and furniture manufacturing industries? Yes, it happened --- and Greensboro and its leaders have had THIRTY YEARS to address it.
I certainly wouldn't want any key players on my team who were unable to figure out some tangible, measurable, and meaningful options for pivoting away from occurrences half a lifetime ago toward new more lucrative directions...key point...in THIRTY YEARS.
If some of you were actually educated on the issue at hand the majority of cities large and small lost population during the most recent census. So having even a modest gain in population is actually impressive.
...and if one isn't doing a retrospective specifically addressing the impact of major shifts on Greensboro's stagnation in the 80s and perhaps into the 90s, how long will we have to read about the demise of the textile, tobacco, and furniture manufacturing industries? Yes, it happened --- and Greensboro and its leaders have had THIRTY YEARS to address it.
I certainly wouldn't want any key players on my team who were unable to figure out some tangible, measurable, and meaningful options for pivoting away from occurrences half a lifetime ago toward new more lucrative directions...key point...in THIRTY YEARS.
Wow. Powerful post.
I was actually thinking the stagnation was more along the lines of being a couple of decades old now, but thirty years?!!! Wowza!
The key takeaway is city leadership and key stakeholders have had MORE than ample time to pivot and get things moving toward attracting new industries that are NOT manufacturing, retail, HRT based, but, by and large, it doesn’t seem as if that’s happened with any consistency. So here we are … pffffttt…
If some of you were actually educated on the issue at hand the majority of cities large and small lost population during the most recent census. So having even a modest gain in population is actually impressive.
The majority? That's statistically impossible unless the country has lost population or rural areas really swole---they did not (it's math). Oops, there was just that 40 million person 10-year increase. Oh, but you're more "educated" on how it all works.
Even if that were the case, sounds like typical Greensboro "lowest common denominator" thinking, so unlike most of the more populated cities in NC and SC.
Greensboro seems to still be a blue-collar town and I think that's probably what has caused the stagnant growth. People will move halfway across the country for a tech job at Google or Apple, or for a financial services job at Bank of America; I don't know if I see too many people relocating that far for a manufacturing job at Toyota or at Boom Supersonic. It seems those companies will simply poach from the existing manufacturing workforce in The Triad.
I think it's a little dramatic to paint such a gloomy picture for Greensboro based on this article though, I think it has an overall positive future and, like another poster said, it's still a small victory to even have a little population growth, versus having a population decline. Do you all really want tons of people moving to Greensboro all at one time? You don't want to end up like residents of Atlanta who are always complaining about how crowded it is and that too many people are moving there.
Greensboro seems to still be a blue-collar town and I think that's probably what has caused the stagnant growth. People will move halfway across the country for a tech job at Google or Apple, or for a financial services job at Bank of America; I don't know if I see too many people relocating that far for a manufacturing job at Toyota or at Boom Supersonic. It seems those companies will simply poach from the existing manufacturing workforce in The Triad.
I think it's a little dramatic to paint such a gloomy picture for Greensboro based on this article though, I think it has an overall positive future and, like another poster said, it's still a small victory to even have a little population growth, versus having a population decline. Do you all really want tons of people moving to Greensboro all at one time? You don't want to end up like residents of Atlanta who are always complaining about how crowded it is and that too many people are moving there.
I won't speak to the last sentence because growth and the jobs announcements alone indicate that what you may hear from CITIES like Atlanta, Boston, Washington DC, Houston, Dallas... is the vocal minority. "Not wanting to be in those places" certainly doesn't pan out statistically. Moreover, nobody mentioned "tons of people moving to Greensboro." That's a bit of exaggeration in an attempt to support a position. I'm also not attempting to compare Greensboro to cities in that league --- just responding as you brought Atlanta in as a "case study."
I agree with your main points though - especially your opening paragraph. This is why I mentioned new leadership and a pivot. Cities (and companies) do this all the time, even when they are successful. Sometimes you just need new ideas and a different direction depending on what the goals are.
You're right --- the major pursuits are still mostly manufacturing (whether it's autos, airplanes, batteries, jeans --- whatever). That's not a bad piece of the puzzle, but it cannot be the end-all be-all. Before the new thread and article were even posted, I mentioned the college-educated workforce having no choice but to move even if they want to stay --- the survey quoted in the article found the same thing. This is not the case in "every other city" of 300,000.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aspe4
Greensboro seems to still be a blue-collar town and I think that's probably what has caused the stagnant growth.
...and way too heavily weighted toward that orientation. Nothing geographically (interstate system, booming large growth state), talent-wise (access to an educated population from great schools in every direction), or environmental (think "Flint") should be stopping Greensboro from diversifying.
As per my username, I (voluntarily) moved from Durham to Greensboro last year and I have met more than a few others like me (moving here from Charlotte, Asheville or Durham/Raleigh). While I think it's true that the cross-country migration will continue to come in to the Triangle and Charlotte due to the job markets there, I think the vast majority of intrastate migration will be from Charlotte/Triangle to places like Greensboro and the other "mid tier" cities, especially as work from home becomes more and more the norm.
I don't want to paint with too broad a brush from my own personal experience, but I do know many people who are very turned off by the incredibly fast growth in Durham and the other cities mentioned above, and the high COL and unaffordable housing markets that all the tech jobs have brought with them.
Greensboro is an incredible opportunity for someone like me, who loves NC and can get everything I love about NC in Greensboro (friendly people, great outdoor spaces, moderate pace of life, close to mountains and the beach), only without the traffic, high costs, and political extremes of Durham (I say this as a lifelong D voter, and it doesn't apply to Raleigh/Charlotte so much obviously). I do think GSO could do well with more of a tech/education presence and it has opportunities to do that, but I am glad it isn't entirely overrun with that sector like Durham has become.
I admire Greensboro and you can nitpick it a thousand different ways, which is true of every city. People will complain about local government, but it's just as bad elsewhere, if not oftentimes much worse. The Greensboro public park system is truly world class in my opinion, it's roads are well maintained and capable of handling growth, the city is well laid out and planned, and while it may be growing slowly, it is growing sustainably in a way that some other cities are not. It is a great town to be "middle class", which is not true of many of the faster growing cities in NC, where it is very much Upper and Lower class and not much in the middle.
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