Ian WhiteAmerican Exodus: Cities Losing People
January 2nd 2011 16:10
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There have been many casualities to the American recession, felt from New York to Greece. Specifically here in America, it is causing people to flee once thriving cities and towns due to failing industry and outsourcing. Without duitiful tax payers inflating their economy on a local level, it's harder to even maintain basic services we take for granted like Police and Firefighters. Unemployment numbers are through the roof and perhaps the most telling sign of a place in economic peril is home abandonment, which cause high home vacancy numbers. Here is a list of some of the cities whose struggles have led to migration.
1. New Orleans
Population: 354,850
Population Change 2000-2009: -128,813
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -26.63%
Home Vacancy: 21.5%
This one is a no brainer. After years of neglect including a Bush administration refusal to update the sub-par levies, New Orleans was hit with the devasting hurricane Katrina which caused by some estimates $80 billion dollars in damage. Due to rampant corruption and apathy in the rebuilding process, the city still is a far cry from where it once was, with the trickle of returning residents too slow to garner much hope for the future.
2. Flint, Mich.
Population: 111,475
Population Change 2000-2009: -13,266
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -10.63%
Home Vacancy: 18%
Flint's woes have actually come from the loss of one sector: Auto. This once was a car town as at the turn of the century, Flint was a divisional headquarters to the major American auto manufacturers, including Chevrolet, Buick, and General Motors. Because of that success, their population quadrupled bewteen 1910 and 1930. But the auto industry in America began declining in the 80's causing the population to decrease by 10% each decade. Plant closings and layoffs became inevitable and now they have unemployment numbers easily in double figures.
3. Cleveland
Population: 431,369
Population Change 2000-2009: -45,205
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -9.49%
Home Vacancy: 17.5%
God hates Cleveland. At least according to their rabid sports fan, and looking at their track record, it'd be hard to argue. It could aslo have to do with its decadence as a manufacturing giant. It's connection to key routes, including Lake Erie, made it a vital trade spot. Cleveland famously also was big on the auto industry front. Now most of their major companies like Peerless and People's and Winton are history. No longer has the city been able to thrive on the shipments of coal and iron. They don't even have John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company, and oil is the one thing America won't let go of. It's hard to believe this city once had over 900 thousand people as early as 1948. Now it's been ravaged by poverty. Is it any wonder Lebron left?
4. Buffalo, N.Y.
Population: 270,240
Population Change 2000-2009: -21,970
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -7.52%
Home Vacancy: 17.2%
Buffalo was also a huge beneficary of the Erie Canal, but now are victims. Buffalo was the 13th largest city in the country just before WW II. It is now the 70th. They've saw a population drop of over 100,000 people in the 1970's alone. Once known as the "city of lights" due to its electricity generation, advances in energy technology has caused Buffalo to lose relevance causing the massive migration to search for better prospects.
5. Dayton, Ohio
Population: 153,843
Population Change 2000-2009: -11,961
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -7.21%
Home Vacancy: 18.9%
Yeah, it's really bad in Ohio. Dayton serves as a reminder of America's lost promise as a nation of innovation. It produced more patents per capita at the turn of the century than any other. Numerous former fortune 500 companies like National Cash Register, Mead Paper and Phillips Manufacturing had Dayton on the map. It had more GM autoworkers than any city outside of Michigan during World War II. But over the last 50 years, Mead has merged with West Virginia Paper and moved to Richmond, and GM has closed one plant after another in the city, leaving the city gasping for growth.
6. Pittsburgh
Population: 311,647
Population Change 2000-2009: -22,056
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -6.61%
Home Vacancy: 14.1%
The "Steel City," Pittsburgh was the heart of the American industrial engine from the late 1800s through the late 1970s. Now they seem to only have Troy Polamalu shampoo ads to look forward to. The city was home to more than 1,000 factories, including the mills owned by Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, which by itself employed over 340,000 workers during World War II. The collapse of steel in the 80's crippled the city and even a recent switch to more modern technology hasn't stopped the bleeding as they've since a 50% decline in population since the 1950's.
7. Rochester, N.Y.
Population: 207,294
Population Change 2000-2009: -12,180
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -5.55%
Home Vacancy: 15.3%
This city was once the major flour processor in the country, and houses several key corporations including Xerox and Eastman Kodak. Rochester was another of the big trade cities due to its convenient location between Albany and Buffalo, which also enabled them to benefit from the Erie Canal. Well we know how that arrangement worked out. The canal use plummeted, the advent of railroads, the loss of major companies, and even a decline in Xerox have harmed the economies' potency. Rochester is still struggling to find a replacement industry and has seen a 34% decrease in population from 1950-2000.
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