Milwaukee's Mayor Johnson wants 1 million residents

[PanhandleBledsoe]

I think it's tough for Milwaukee to grow when Chicago and Minny-St. Paul are affordable and have room to build more. Milwaukee's not going to beat them on Fortune 500 companies, attractions, nightlife, or social network effects any time soon. If they can't offer significantly better affordability either, it's hard to win that battle for new residents. Of course, that could change in the next 20 or so years.

All of those cities are fighting the general migration patterns now, too. But I do think that housing costs and climate are going to allow the midwest to start growing slightly faster than the comparable sunbelt cities sometime in the 2040s. Laying the groundwork now with zoning reform would be great. And it seems like Milwaukee's been doing what they reasonably can on transit for a small metro with little state support.