Ten cities with the greatest chance of making a comeback

[LivingIn622]

which city, would you say, has the greatest chance of making a turaround.
name ten which you think in the future will rebound and become bustling cities.

[atl2phx]

which city, would you say, has the greatest chance of making a turaround.
name ten which you think in the future will rebound and become bustling cities.

not that some of these aren't already bustling, however, i think all the cities below have "headroom" for positive economic and population gowth.

1 - new orleans
2 - philadelphia
3 - birmingham
4 - indianapolis
5 - st louis
6 - cleveland
7 - pittsburgh
8 - buffalo
9 - cincinnati
10 - baltimore

[JivecitySTL]

This is pretty much a no-brainer. Just look at the cities that achieved great city status in the 20th Century and have since declined and you will see the places that hold the most potential:

Baltimore
Detroit
Saint Louis
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
New Orleans
Cincinnati

and a few others. These cities have the built environment to compete with the best of them, yet they are underutilized. I am confident that ALL are on their way back, although no big city will ever be what it was in the heyday of great cities.

[Top Of The Park]

....but what I've seen of St. Louis on here......I'd say they are already back

[Dac150]

1.Baltimore
2.Philadelphia
3.Jersey City
4.St. Louis
6.Pittsburgh
7.Tampa Bay
8.Newark
9.Ft. Lauderdale
10.Providence

[markdv]

1. Pittsburgh
2. Baltimore
3. Jersey City / Hoboken
4. Allentown / Bethlehem / Easton
5. Scranton / Wilkes Barre
6. Cleveland
7. Hartford
8. Trenton
9. St. Louis
10. New Orleans

Would have Placed Philly at #1, but, it's already a few years into its comeback !

[cabasse]

philadelphia, pittsburgh, st. louis, indianapolis, tampa, wha? and even baltimore and cincinnati are either turning around, have been doing so for quite some time or never really fell.

i'm kind of surprised very few mentioned detroit - do people truly hold it in such a negative light, or is it just a city that isn't given much thought? there are many signs that point to a comeback here, in the metro but even more so in the city.

my list, in no particular order...

detroit
new orleans
birmingham
cleveland (this one's arguable, as it's definitely been progressing for some time)
louisville
dayton
little rock (another one that's been progressing for some time, even without any real major economic growth)
--three more mostly out of my ass:
gary
toledo
buffalo

[liat91]

1. Philadelphia
2. Baltimore
3. Pittsburgh
4. Cleveland
5. Richmond
6. Knoxville
7. St. Louis
8. New Orleans
9. Hartford
10. Columbia

[Marcu]

1. Milwaukee (I guess it might already be "back")
2. Phili
3. New Orleans
4. Detroit
5. Peoria, IL

[PhillyRising]

1. Philadelphia - It never totally fell but despite the uptick in crime in the bad areas....we've never looked as good as we do today.

2. Pittsburgh - This city is so ripe for a boom.

3. Baltimore - Lots of development around the harbor, still cheaper to live in than Washington.

4. Wilmington, DE - A city that has been on the upswing.

5. Camden, NJ - Yes...Camden.

6. Chester, PA - Yes....Chester.

7. Allentown/Bethlehem, PA - Seeing lots of people moving in from the NYC area looking for affordable housing.

8. Detroit - I'm rooting for them!

9. Atlantic City - Even with the mayor missing, it's hard for this city not to come back.

10. Norristown, PA - Hey it's my hometown....and one of these days the turnaround that has been touted all my life will one day come to fruition.

[LivingIn622]

here are my ten, in order.
1 Detroit (lots of new developments I think the city will be on it's way soon)
2 Pittsburgh
3 St. Louis
4 Philly
5 Cleveland
6 Atlanta( some may say it is already back, but it still has major crime problems)
7 Milwaukee
8 Baltimore
9 St. Paul MN
10 Buffalo

[atl2phx]

i'm kind of surprised very few mentioned detroit - do people truly hold it in such a negative light, or is it just a city that isn't given much thought? there are many signs that point to a comeback here, in the metro but even more so in the city.

i considered detroit. given the little bit i know, detroit seems to be bleeding jobs, people and wealth so much i'm of the perception it's going to be quite a while before any turnaround. i hope i'm wrong.

[hudkina]

On the contrary, studies have shown that the bleeding population has been overstated by the census bureau.

Here are a few points of interest from a recent study by Social Compact (http://www.socialcompact.org/):

- The resident population of Detroit is 933,043, nearly 62,000 more than projected by the current Census population estimates. (While the official count was about 950,000 in 2000, that's a loss of only about 2%, compared to a loss of nearly 10%.)

-The average income of a Detroit household is $48,000 as opposed to the 2000 Census estimate of $40,900.

-There is $800 million of informal economic activity in Detroit's economy each year. This is income like tips, side-consulting, baby-sitting and the like that do not register on traditional market measures.

-The aggregate income of Detroit households, $15.8 billion, is $2 billion greater than indicated by 2000 Census estimates.

Other information:

In 2006, 461 single-family homes were built in the city of Detroit. While that may not seem like a big deal compared to sunbelt cities with endless amounts of land, keep in mind that between 1973 and 1994 (a stretch of 21 years) only 452 single-family homes were built in the city. In fact, in the five years between 2002 and 2006, 1,618 single-family homes were built in the city. That's the greatest 5 year stretch the city has had since the late 60's/early 70's. As far as total housing permits go, the city of Detroit has been leading the metro area in new housing for several years now, with nearly 6,000 new housing units since 2000.

[atl2phx]

On the contrary, studies have shown that the bleeding population has been overstated by the census bureau.

Here are a few points of interest from a recent study by Social Compact (http://www.socialcompact.org/):

- The resident population of Detroit is 933,043, nearly 62,000 more than projected by the current Census population estimates. (While the official count was about 950,000 in 2000, that's a loss of only about 2%, compared to a loss of nearly 10%.)

-The average income of a Detroit household is $48,000 as opposed to the 2000 Census estimate of $40,900.

-There is $800 million of informal economic activity in Detroit's economy each year. This is income like tips, side-consulting, baby-sitting and the like that do not register on traditional market measures.

-The aggregate income of Detroit households, $15.8 billion, is $2 billion greater than indicated by 2000 Census estimates.

Other information:

In 2006, 461 single-family homes were built in the city of Detroit. While that may not seem like a big deal compared to sunbelt cities with endless amounts of land, keep in mind that between 1973 and 1994 (a stretch of 21 years) only 452 single-family homes were built in the city. In fact, in the five years between 2002 and 2006, 1,618 single-family homes were built in the city. That's the greatest 5 year stretch the city has had since the late 60's/early 70's. As far as total housing permits go, the city of Detroit has been leading the metro area in new housing for several years now, with nearly 6,000 new housing units since 2000.

good to hear. all that plus ford field and a bunch of new riverfront development......pluuuuuus, the lions aren't looking half bad this year.

[Crawford]

Hudkina, some no-name nonprofit cannot have a clue what is happening with Detroit's population numbers. Their claims mean nothing. I don't think there is any serious debate that Detroit is losing population.

I am surprised so many are listing New Orleans at the top of their lists. I don't see many long-term positives. No immigration, poor location, horrible crime, lack of economic diversity and continued hurricane threat.

I would put Baltimore and Oakland at the top of my list, as both are in high-cost, high-demand locations and receive spillover from DC and SF. The same is happening with Philly and spillover from NYC, but Philly is already well on its way to success.

I think Detroit is a good long-term bet, but don't expect a dramatic near-term upsurge.

[hudkina]

Hudkina, some no-name nonprofit cannot have a clue what is happening with Detroit's population numbers. Their claims mean nothing. I don't think there is any serious debate that Detroit is losing population.

They actually performed a comprehensive study of Detroit, which is far more than what the Census Bureau has been doing over the past six years. While I agree that the city has lost population since 2000, I think the Social Compact estimate is far more accurate than the Census Bureau estimate. The Census is notorious for terrible estimates in older, established cities. After all, the 90's estimates for Chicago were off by more than 200,000 people when the actual count occured in 2000.

I know that in 2010 Detroit's population will be less than 950,000, but I think that it will actually be closer to 915,000-920,000 as opposed to 825,000, which is what current Census trends estimate the population to be in 2010. a 3% decline in population is much different than a 13% decline.

[Rufus]

I think they're all currently coming back.

The ones I think are coming back the fastest: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Newark, Saint Louis, New Orleans.

[arbeiter]

It seems to me that Baltimore has the best chance, because it's within spitting distance of an extremely dynamic white-collar economy, has great rail infrastructure and affordable prices to a generation of DCers already used to living in narrow townhouses.

[mind field]

Downtown Detroit has made a nice comeback from it's worst days, but as long as the I don't care, racist, corrupt city government does NOTHING, the city will still slowly decline, thankfully the worst of the decline is over.

[GO_UAE]

Abu Dhabi :) it will be the talk of the world soon enough !

[crisp444]

Besides all of the northern cities listed (Newark, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, etc) I think Atlanta is going to really make a big comeback. It already is doing so, but I think neighborhoods outside of Midtown/Downtown/Buckhead are especially going to continue to see increasing population and property values.

[atl2phx]

Besides all of the northern cities listed (Newark, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, etc) I think Atlanta is going to really make a big comeback. It already is doing so, but I think neighborhoods outside of Midtown/Downtown/Buckhead are especially going to continue to see increasing population and property values.

good call, good points. i should have put atlanta on my list. there's amazing stuff happening how in the 4th ward, west midtown and all around the proposed beltline.

[Evergrey]

I think Atlanta is ripe for a comeback... it's struggling now... only adding MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER METRO this decade... but I think it's due for a turnaround one of these days

[JivecitySTL]

I'm not sure a place like Atlanta would qualify as a "comeback" city as much as an "up and coming" city. The term "comeback" implies that a city reached a certain status, fell, and then rebounded. Considering Atlanta is bigger and more prominent than it has ever been, it shouldn't be called a comeback city.

[atl2phx]

I think Atlanta is ripe for a comeback... it's struggling now... only adding MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER METRO this decade... but I think it's due for a turnaround one of these days

true. i'm pretty sure, however, that crisp and i were talking about the city proper.

[LivingIn622]

Hudkina, some no-name nonprofit cannot have a clue what is happening with Detroit's population numbers. Their claims mean nothing. I don't think there is any serious debate that Detroit is losing population.

I am surprised so many are listing New Orleans at the top of their lists. I don't see many long-term positives. No immigration, poor location, horrible crime, lack of economic diversity and continued hurricane threat.

I would put Baltimore and Oakland at the top of my list, as both are in high-cost, high-demand locations and receive spillover from DC and SF. The same is happening with Philly and spillover from NYC, but Philly is already well on its way to success.

I think Detroit is a good long-term bet, but don't expect a dramatic near-term upsurge.

Detroit is already making a comeback. but I don't think the city will be what it used to be in the 1950's until a little while. like, 25 years, but in 10 years it will have great imprortance. new investments and all that positive energy.

I hope New Orleans can make a comeback. but it seems almost impossible. of course the city looks like it's coming back cause people are moving in but thats from 0 living in the city to now gaining 45, false numbers but you get the point. How can people want to move back even though that area is a hurricane haven.

[ady26]

As an European, I bet on the following cities that I thik have the greates chance of making a comeback:
1. St. Louis
2. Milwaukee
3. Cincy
4. Pittsburgh
5. Harrisonburg
6. Baltimore
7. Charleston/WV
8. Hartford
9. Newark
10. Jersey City

[L.ARCH]

Atlanta, might I add, had it's peak in the 50's and slowly declined in population for over 40-50 years. Only in the past few years has the trend reversed... I think last year there were about 12,500 people that moved INTO the city which was the largest single year gain in population the city has ever seen...

New Orleans WILL be great once again...

[ozone]

I don't quite understand the question. What do you mean exactly by 'making a comeback'? Once major cities have been surpassed in importance there's little chance they'll return to their former glory. Only a few cities are able to maintain their importance regardless of loss of leading population status or economic importance. Most of them maintain or regain their glory because they are really unique -like Venice. This gives me hope for New Orleans. Then there are cities like San Francisco which are able to reinvent themselves and stay relevant. I don't see cities like Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia ever being as great or as relevant as they once were but I could be wrong.

A better question might be: Which cities today have a good chance becoming tomorrow's Detroits?

[Buckeye Native 001]

*edit*

[IdahoMountainBoy]

This question is far too subjective without delineated criteria for what constitutes a city in need of a "comeback"

Ex. If we all say Baltimore, a Baltimore forumer will surely attempt to convince us that it has a comeback and be insulted we perceive his/her city to be antiquated and run-down... City's ebb and flow with the tide of the economy, some more so than others...

[arbeiter]

'comeback' is such an arbitrary term as it is.

[Dac150]

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Your making more out of it. It could mean a population growth, an economic growth, highrise growth. It doesn't mean the city has been run down.

[tuy]

Abu Dhabi :) it will be the talk of the world soon enough !

Troll

[MIAMISKYLINE]

Troll

???:previous:

[ctman987]

Here are mine in no particular order..

1) Hartford - Over the last 10 years this city has seen a new convention center open, new hotels open, new luxury condos and apartments, a new community college, a new culinary institute and dozens of new restaurants and bars. Great location with a strong metropolitan area (greater Hartford) that is poised to keep improving.

2) Providence - its already had an amazing turnaround and is becoming better every day but there is still room to grow

3) Baltimore - Cheaper then DC, full of history and on the water. Great assests such as the Inner Harbor, Mount Vernon Cultural District and Fells Point. Numerous sports teams also.

4) Pittsburgh

5) Newark

6) Detroit - It might take a while and it might not focus around the automobile industry but this city has a rich industry and is bound to see success

7) Saint Louis

8) Bridgeport, CT - only 1 hour from Grand Central via Metro North commuter rail this city had hit rock bottom in recent years. Blocks are full of vacant buildings. A massive redevelopment plan is underway for the waterfront and hopefully this city can be revamped like New Haven and Stamford.

9) Philadelphia

10) Jersey City - True many areas of the city have seen drastic improvements (downtown espeically) but the next step is improving all of the city's neighborhoods

[ozone]

Now see I didn't even know Hartford had something to come back to?

[Rufus]

Now see I didn't even know Hartford had something to come back to?

Well sure, Hartford was a decent city before white flight in the 50s-60s after which large sections became run down. Now apparently it is improving or "coming back." This does not necessarily mean that Hartford will someday reach the level of importance it once had.

[SuburbanNation]

Atlanta, might I add, had it's peak in the 50's and slowly declined in population for over 40-50 years. Only in the past few years has the trend reversed... I think last year there were about 12,500 people that moved INTO the city which was the largest single year gain in population the city has ever seen...

New Orleans WILL be great once again...

New Orleans is great now. Maybe i'm just too fucking religious. Maybe i swim, drink, and piss too much in the Mississip. Maybe i'm a sucker for old river cities born before the United States.

[forumly_chgoman]

On the contrary, studies have shown that the bleeding population has been overstated by the census bureau.

Here are a few points of interest from a recent study by Social Compact (http://www.socialcompact.org/):

- The resident population of Detroit is 933,043, nearly 62,000 more than projected by the current Census population estimates. (While the official count was about 950,000 in 2000, that's a loss of only about 2%, compared to a loss of nearly 10%.)

-The average income of a Detroit household is $48,000 as opposed to the 2000 Census estimate of $40,900.

-There is $800 million of informal economic activity in Detroit's economy each year. This is income like tips, side-consulting, baby-sitting and the like that do not register on traditional market measures.

-The aggregate income of Detroit households, $15.8 billion, is $2 billion greater than indicated by 2000 Census estimates.

Other information:

In 2006, 461 single-family homes were built in the city of Detroit. While that may not seem like a big deal compared to sunbelt cities with endless amounts of land, keep in mind that between 1973 and 1994 (a stretch of 21 years) only 452 single-family homes were built in the city. In fact, in the five years between 2002 and 2006, 1,618 single-family homes were built in the city. That's the greatest 5 year stretch the city has had since the late 60's/early 70's. As far as total housing permits go, the city of Detroit has been leading the metro area in new housing for several years now, with nearly 6,000 new housing units since 2000.

I'd be curious if they have done a similiar study in Chicago. I would add NY & CHi to the list above just considering how far they both fell between 1950 and the 1980's

[LivingIn622]

I don't quite understand the question. What do you mean exactly by 'making a comeback'? Once major cities have been surpassed in importance there's little chance they'll return to their former glory. Only a few cities are able to maintain their importance regardless of loss of leading population status or economic importance. Most of them maintain or regain their glory because they are really unique -like Venice. This gives me hope for New Orleans. Then there are cities like San Francisco which are able to reinvent themselves and stay relevant. I don't see cities like Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia ever being as great or as relevant as they once were but I could be wrong.

A better question might be: Which cities today have a good chance becoming tomorrow's Detroits?

reading into it too much. Making a comeback in alot of arenas like population, importance, etc. it doesn't have to be if these cities will ever be like they once where.

[ozone]

That doesn't make any sense to me. Making a comeback in a lot of areas like population, importance, etc. DOES imply these cities will be like they once were. Maybe you are making too much of these city's importance or lack of. Maybe it's not so much that these cities fell from grace but rather other cities just caught up and superceeded these once importance centers. As the country grew and migrated westward it was only natural that all but the most mighty cities of a much smaller country would be able to hold onto their position. Can Detroit be a nice city once again ..probably but there's no way Detroit will ever regain it's former stature.

Now if the climate changes and Florida is buried under water and Cleveland starts having very mild winters well then things might change.

[LivingIn622]

take Detroit for instance. It has bad crime problems, bad government etc. but new developments going into the city and new population growth is making the city comeback to a nice city, maybe not as nice as before. Making a comeback it doesn't have to mean being like it once was but regaining tourism, pop, and importance. so that people look at a city like Detroit, and go I think I will move theren such a nice city. even though during the 1950s alot more people where thinking about moving in to the city.

[Evergrey]

maybe the question should be... which cities won't come back? my money's on Cairo, IL

[ctman987]

Now see I didn't even know Hartford had something to come back to?

Hartford was once the nation's wealthiest city in the late 19th century. The streets of Hartford bustled. The city was home to numerous department stores including G. Fox & Company which was the nations 6th largest department store and the largest department store in New England. Hartford also had a strong manufactoring presence with tons of factories including the famed headuqarters of Colt Firearms just south of downtown. Immigrants came to Hartford from all over as well including thousands of Italians who settled in the city's former Front Street neighborhood. The city also had a huge insurance industry and was known as the insurance capital of the world with companies like The Hartford and Travelers calling the city home.

The construction of I-84 and I-91 did not help Hartford though but it helped its suburbs. The two interstates were built to intersect right in the heart of downtown essentially cutting downtown in half. Many people and soon businesses relocated to the suburbs. G. Fox and Sage Allen opened up additional stores at Westfarms Mall while keeping their downtown stores for some time. By the late 1980's and early 1990's the city had hit bottom. The city had gone from a population of about 177,000 in the 1950's to a low of about 121,000. Crime was prevalent with the city being ranked one of the most dangerous in the nation, corporate mergers had hurt the former Insurance Capital of the World, businesses found out it was cheaper and safer in the suburbs and the graduation rate at city schools was disturbing.

The state and city realized something needed to be done. The state along with a private developer constructed the new Connecticut Convention Center and attached Marriott Hartford Hotel Downtown which opened in 2005. This help start a wave of redevelopment citywide. The former Civic Center Mall which started to fail after the NHL Hartford Whalers left town in 2007 was torn down to make room for a new 36 story luxury apartment tower that also features retail and office space which opened last fall. The former G Fox Department Store is now a community college, the former Sage Allen Department Store is becoming townhouses and lofts for University of Hartford students and the former Korvettes department store will become condos. Back by the conventon center a new science center is under construction. Over on Asylum Hill a culinary institute relocated from the suburbs and AETNA Insurance is working on bringing more then 3,000 employees to the city from Middletown, CT.

Yes the city still had problems and will probably never get back to where it was in society but its working on it. Crime is still a problem and education is still a problem. The city must also compete tooth and nail with the suburbs to retain jobs. In the last two years ING and MetLife announced they would be moving to the suburbs while St Paul Travelers announced they would be adding 500 new jobs to the city, Prudential Retirement renewed its lease downtown and AETNA is consolidating all its jobs to the city.

[samne]

I would agree with Baltimore. DC is booming and Balitmore's gotta have the spillover sooner or later. Not everyone wants to move to the VA countryside.

Innercity Hartford. Beautiful foliage, historic and perfectly located between Boston,NYC, New England countryside and coast. It has a very established and wealthy metro area.

Im really hoping Buffalo can get things going, but theyre going the wrong direction with a casino.

[MolsonExport]

I am placing my bets on the old second-tier cities of the northeast (e.g., Hartford, Jersey city, etc.). According to the magic-8 ball, the outlook for the midwest (e.g., Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Buffalo, etc.) is still...uncertain.

[PhillyRising]

I don't see cities like Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia ever being as great or as relevant as they once were but I could be wrong.


You are wrong. Philadelphia is still relevant and important. :hell:

[skyfan]

Hudkina, some no-name nonprofit cannot have a clue what is happening with Detroit's population numbers. Their claims mean nothing. I don't think there is any serious debate that Detroit is losing population.
.

A no name non-profit, huh?

The Fed Chairman seems to think they have a clue. But you're clearly more qualified than him to judge the quality of their work.

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
At the Greenlining Institute's Thirteenth Annual Economic Development Summit, Los Angeles, California
(via satellite)
April 20, 2006
By the Numbers: Data and Measurement in Community Economic Development

...Of course, knowledge bearing on community economic development has both qualitative and quantitative aspects, and it can be gained through diverse channels, from talking to people in a neighborhood to performing a regression analysis. Today, I will focus on the progress that is being made on the quantitative side--in particular, the remarkable strides that have been made in developing and analyzing social and economic data at the community level.

...Historically, government agencies have been the source of the most-comprehensive social and economic data bearing on community development. An important example is the data collected by the Federal Reserve under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The HMDA data set provides extensive information on home mortgage applications to virtually all U.S. lenders, including approval rates, the socioeconomic characteristics of applicants, and most recently, mortgage pricing information. ...

Similarly, Social Compact's Neighborhood Market DrillDown methodology uses a multilayered research process to provide profiles of the market potential of high-density, lower-income communities. This approach focuses on business indicators--buying power, market size, unmet needs, and market risks--rather than on the deficiency statistics typically used to describe inner-city neighborhoods, such as rates of poverty, crime, and overcrowding. Social Compact, a coalition of business leaders, has applied its DrillDown approach to 101 neighborhoods over the past five years, beginning with Chicago neighborhoods and, most recently, in Santa Ana, California. By tapping existing public records and conducting intensive economic and demographic surveys, the DrillDown analyses of these 101 neighborhoods in eight cities have, in the aggregate, revealed additional income and buying power averaging nearly $6,000 per household, which is not captured by traditional sources of community-level data.2 Such information may attract private-sector investors to areas that had once been deemed untenable for investment. For example, following Social Compact's study of neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida, a developer announced plans to invest $45 million in a multi-use entertainment complex there. A DrillDown study in inner-city Houston revealed a population that was 25 percent larger than Census estimates, resulting in the redevelopment of a 750,000 square foot retail center that brought 2,000 jobs to a neighborhood that had not had new construction in fifty years. This shopping center is now one of the busiest retail centers in the city. 3

Work to improve the measurement of market potential in inner-city communities is continuing. In one such project, Social Compact and the Brookings Institution's Urban Markets Initiative group are collaborating in reviewing methods for measuring the size and composition of economies in urban areas around the world. The objectives of the review are to develop new tools for measuring economic activity at the local level and to identify areas for future research.

[Segun]

That doesn't make any sense to me. Making a comeback in a lot of areas like population, importance, etc. DOES imply these cities will be like they once were. Maybe you are making too much of these city's importance or lack of. Maybe it's not so much that these cities fell from grace but rather other cities just caught up and superceeded these once importance centers. As the country grew and migrated westward it was only natural that all but the most mighty cities of a much smaller country would be able to hold onto their position. Can Detroit be a nice city once again ..probably but there's no way Detroit will ever regain it's former stature.


We're not referring to glory and importance. To summarize it up, we're referring to a comeback in terms of the original intent of the city in terms of amenties, activity and vibrancy. NYC doesn't have the same stature it had before WW2, but it too came back.

[Wigs]

I would agree with Baltimore. DC is booming and Balitmore's gotta have the spillover sooner or later. Not everyone wants to move to the VA countryside.

Innercity Hartford. Beautiful foliage, historic and perfectly located between Boston,NYC, New England countryside and coast. It has a very established and wealthy metro area.

Im really hoping Buffalo can get things going, but theyre going the wrong direction with a casino.

The Seneca Nation of Indians was granted 3 casinos in the compact with NY State. The "Buffalo Creek" casino in downtown Buffalo is the last of the 3. The city/citizens have no control over this.

and good things are happening in Buffalo.
http://www.ci.buffalo.ny.us/files/1_2_1/splanning/listofprojects/ListBuffDev092807.pdf

[sharkfood]

This thread is hilarious. Call it the "backhanded compliment" thread.

People are praising certain cities for their comeback potential, but implicit in that praise is the assumption that these cities have fallen so far that they are in need of a comeback.

[SuburbanNation]

I am placing my bets on the old second-tier cities of the northeast (e.g., Hartford, Jersey city, etc.). According to the magic-8 ball, the outlook for the midwest (e.g., Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Buffalo, etc.) is still...uncertain.

well, just visit st. louis. theres nothing uncertain about what i see off my balcony.

[bucks native]

What happens when Atlanta runs out of water in 90 days?

[Rufus]

What happens when Atlanta runs out of water in 90 days?

They devise a plan to steal it from the North.

[atl2phx]

They devise a plan to steal it from the North.

oh geez, that was friggin funny! high five! anyone? anyone? no? i didn't think so.

[Wild Onion Mike]

It would take a massive convergence of social redirecting, economic infusion, and psychological acceptance, but I really hope Gary, IN sooner than later develops into a thriving community.

Gary reminds me of the Icarus story. It grew so quickly, almost uncontrollably, only to precipitously decay.

[Xing]

I agree.

[WilliamTheArtist]

I would say "comeback" means good growth versus decline or stagnation. Many cities had their glory days when they boomed or were at the top of the world. But as time moves on it usually becomes less and less likely a city, especially small to medium sized ones, will recapture that simply because the world itself changes and the reasons a place booms in one time may not be as important in another. Tulsa was the Oil Capital of the World. It cant ever be that again. But it would be nice if it were a thriving city again. Not to the extent it was "one can only dream" but doing well and being a city its citizens can point to and be proud of. "Comeback" doesnt have to even equal rapid growth or a booming economy, it can be slow and moderate growth if the city itself has that spark and liveliness to it that makes it an enjoyable place to be, after having been in a slump or having negative growth and negative attitudes. So perhaps "comeback" can also mean "Positive outlook, both economic and socially, after a time of negative outlook."

One thing I have started noticing on here is that Tulsa seems to definitely not be on anyones radar. Its never mentioned, unless by someone who lives or lived in Tulsa. Even on this list people have placed smaller cities like St Louis "which is considered a neighboring, comparable city in these parts" or Buffalo, etc. We have some great architecture and skyscrapers here, "this is the skyscraper forum lol". Tulsas skyscrapers are taller than any nearby city, Kansas City, St Louis, Oklahoma City, etc. Yet again, most of those cities get more mention than Tulsa. Its as if Tulsa doesn't even exist. I wonder why that is? Why St Louis and Buffalo, for instance, and never Tulsa?

[dktshb]

New York
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Chicago
Miami
Seattle
Portland
San Diego
Boston
Honolulu

Actually the question posed is somewhat subjective. Depending on what city you live in probably determines what you consider "making a comeback." A city that gains in population by attracting cheap jobs and cheap pay and promotes endless sprawl isn't making a comeback IMO.

[dktshb]

What happens when Atlanta runs out of water in 90 days?
Civil War, again!

[bucks native]

New York
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Chicago
Miami
Seattle
Portland
San Diego
Boston
Honolulu



Living on the West Coast, what's the sense there for the future of San Diego after the fires? One would think that with the fires, which now seem like an annual event, folks and businesses would have second thoughts about locating there.

[dktshb]

Living on the West Coast, what's the sense there for the future of San Diego after the fires? One would think that with the fires, which now seem like an annual event, folks and businesses would have second thoughts about locating there. Or at least building more responsibly.

[JivecitySTL]

One thing I have started noticing on here is that Tulsa seems to definitely not be on anyones radar. Its never mentioned, unless by someone who lives or lived in Tulsa. Even on this list people have placed smaller cities like St Louis "which is considered a neighboring, comparable city in these parts"...I wonder why that is? Why St Louis and Buffalo, for instance, and never Tulsa?

Because nobody gives a flying fuck about city population. Metropolitan area population is much more valid in this day and age. To say that St. Louis is "smaller" than Tulsa is to say that Boston is "smaller" than Jacksonville (it's true). Completely meaningless and totally misleading. If St. Louis' physical city limits encompassed the same massive area as Tulsa's, it would probably be four times the size. Tulsa is a MUCH smaller urban center than St. Louis and much less influential. Tulsa has less than 900,000 people in its entire metro area, whereas St. Louis has 2.8 million. Go figure.

And just so you know, the number or height of skyscrapers a city has means absolutely nothing with regards to its importance. Some of the greatest cities in Europe have NO skyscrapers and are still ten gazillion times more impressive from an urban standpoint than most cities in America.

Tulsa is a fine city in the Southwest, but it is rather inconsequential to most people in the Midwest, East or West coasts (IMO).

[WilliamTheArtist]

Because nobody gives a flying fuck about city population. Metropolitan area population is much more valid in this day and age. To say that St. Louis is "smaller" than Tulsa is to say that Boston is "smaller" than Jacksonville (it's true). Completely meaningless and totally misleading. If St. Louis' physical city limits encompassed the same massive area as Tulsa's, it would probably be four times the size. Tulsa is a MUCH smaller urban center than St. Louis and much less influential. Tulsa has less than 900,000 people in its entire metro area, whereas St. Louis has 2.8 million. Go figure.

And just so you know, the number or height of skyscrapers a city has means absolutely nothing with regards to its importance. Some of the greatest cities in Europe have NO skyscrapers and are still ten gazillion times more impressive from an urban standpoint than most cities in America.

Tulsa is a fine city in the Southwest, but it is rather inconsequential to most people in the Midwest, East or West coasts (IMO).



All very good points.

[Top Of The Park]

....coming back in the World Series. To win one game that is.

[kingsdl76]

Newark

[Rufus]

Tulsa is a fine city in the Southwest, but it is rather inconsequential to most people in the Midwest, East or West coasts (IMO).

So Tulsa is considered to be a part of the Southwest? I have wondered what region it fell under. I guessed it was either Midwest or South.

[Jesus in a Geo]

Milwaukee is poised to make a great comeback. Detroit has enormous potential. St Louis as well. Yet I agree with "comeback" being a somewhat abitrary term.

[j3shafer]

Deleted

[totheskies]

Abu Dhabi :) it will be the talk of the world soon enough !

I definitely think that UAE is aspiring as one of the great nations of the world, but with Dubai madness going on (personally endorsed by the Sheik) do you think there is room for another boomtown?

[dimondpark]

I would put Baltimore and Oakland at the top of my list, as both are in high-cost, high-demand locations and receive spillover from DC and SF.

Excellent observation.

With regard to Oakland, there are 2 Oaklands, one with about 100,000 people and is the Oakland that never declined that is comprised of posh hillsides with commanding views-glistening with literally thousands of million-dollar homes owned by intellectuals, professionals, atheletes, celebrities and the like-a veritable Marin County without the water. These are the people whose daily lives revolve almost exclusively around things to see and do in San Francisco and Berkeley with a poke here and there in Oakland if they go to a game or to the airport. Life there is quite fabulous and always has been.

The other Oakland is where the other 300,000 live. Its gritty, densely populated, urban in some parts, not so urban in others and flat and is home to literally every race and ethnic group under the sun. There are teeming ethnic neighborhoods whose youth are embraced and acclimated to our nation in the vein of the inner city African American viewpoint-thus laotian, guatemalan and tongan youth with gold teeth and hyphy braids. This is where Oakland earned its stripes in the world of hard knocks-no doubt about it. Drug Lords and their runners coexist with buddhist monks and artists and warehouses, sometimes on the same block. There is excrutiatingly high crime in much of the flatlands and it seems homicide is a plague that just wont go away no matter what the city does. At the same time, despite its problems, the new americans that have crowded into the flatlands from all over the world bring a vitality and optimism that is almost palpable.