Forbes magazine’s report is out today with its list of the fastest-dying cities in America.
Youngstown, Canton, and Cleveland - Ohio cities - make up three of the top 10 on the list. Detroit and Flint, both in Michigan, made the rankings. Buffalo, NY, Scranton, PA , Springfield, Mass, Charleston WV, also make the cut.
Common elements among these cities: a declining population base, poor GDP growth, and unemployment that is higher than the national average.
What do you think? Do you equate death with these cities? What would you suggest to get these cities off the ‘dying list’ and into the ‘alive and kicking’ list?
August 6th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
This goes back to Richard’s observations about Pittsburgh in Rise. My father’s family is from the Ohio/West Virginia border near Wheeling, so the Youngstown, Canton, Charleston area and I’ve visited relatives in small towns around there. The general mindset is fearful, afraid of the new, dwelling in the past. My guess is that the population loss is many of the creatives who are moving to greener pastures, which only increases the tendency of those left behind to wish for the ’50’s to come back.
August 6th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Sticking to the premise that creativity is the engine of growth, I’d say that dying cities lack the creative will to live. A dying city is a lot like an alcoholic. Until it hits rock bottom, and is willing to admit there is a problem, nothing will change. City politicians hate change. Change the voting constituency dynamic, and you might lose the next election. Today’s problems cannot be solved by yesterday’s thinking.
Innovation and investment are the twin fountains of youth. Obstructionist urban growth policies, and the lack of financial incentives to draw in business are repellent to creative entrepreneurs looking for room to grow. Instead of waiting for handouts from state and federal agencies to buy another shot of mediocrity, cities should be forming investment and innovation task forces with real power to organize angel investing groups and create innovative mixed use development policies that encourage growth that’s relative to the lifestyle needs of consumers over time.
August 7th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
How does Buffalo dying and Toronto being a top-10 World City two posts later correlate with Richard’s mega-region theory for Tor-Buff-Chester? Does the national border keep Buffalo from benefiting from Toronto’s boom? Or is it deeper, are Buffalonians or whatever they call themselves caught up in clinging to the past and angst about the future? If so, what keeps them from taking advantage of their proximity to Toronto and Rochester? Seems like a test case for what’s wrong in the Rust Belt.
August 7th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I liked the old format much better– the new one is much too busy and confusing.
August 7th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Michael, I’ve always been skeptical of Tor-Buff-Chester. I don’t think Canadians have anything against Buffalo and Rochester, but — aside from getting our American network TV channels from there — I don’t think we feel much of an attachment to them. The linkages are really weak.
The border is a major barrier. There’s the time factor — add an hour to the car trip if you want to make sure you’ll get there on time. There is a train (onward to NYC) that stops in Buffalo, 4.5 hours after it leaves Toronto — that has to be one of the slowest scheduled trips in the developed world! But if time isn’t an issue, the labour markets are split. There’s a lot of paperwork involved in working on the other side of the border, it’s only feasible for certain types of jobs, and so for companies it’s easier to hire someone from the other side of their country than from a nearby city on the other side of the border.
It’s not just customs and immigration policy, either. Universities in places like Waterloo and Hamilton are filled with students who want to be just far enough away from home in Toronto, but “international student” tuition rates discourage Torontonians from studying in Buffalo (or vice versa).
I don’t think we’ll see a European-style border between Toronto and Buffalo anytime soon, so I’m doubtful that Toronto’s growth will offer much of a boost to Buffalo.