The US Census Bureau thread

[Venom]

Originally Posted by Trae

Looks like Houston could take the number three spot from Chicago quicker than most thought.

And here comes the first of the houston boosters.

Prepare for an onslaught from Houston posters.

[Chicago103]

Originally Posted by Chase Unperson

You don't have a city. You happened to be born somewhere. IF you weren't born there, you would have been born somewhere else. Care about all cities. Are you happy? Are you fulfilled? If so, you are lucky and count your blessings. 200,000 more people in your city have no effect on your happiness and fulfillment.

Nearly 10,000 children die each day from a preventable disease, malaria. If 10,000 chicago children died each day from malaria or 10,000 americans, would we accept that? Would we intervene? Why do we do nothing? Because they are not from our cities or our countries? Cityism and Nationalism are selfishness. For the individual selfishness uglifies the soul, in a population selfishness is extinction. The devil will take the hindmost until the foremost is the hindmost.

Don't feel pride or despair if your city is 200,000 greater or fewer than it was 10 years ago. If you are happy there, then that is good enough.

So let me see if I understand you correctly. You think that just because I love Chicago therefore that means I am apathetic about children dying of malaria in the third world?! Are you crazy?

Also just because I love my city that does not mean that I don't love other cities as well, its not black and white. Its not like if you love where you are from that means you think every other place can just fuck off and die. Its also just rhetorical nonsense to say I shouldn't have pride in a place because I could have just as easily been born somewhere else. For that matter I never said you had to be born in a city to have pride in a given city.

[whyhuhwhy]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

funny, crain's just had an article the other day about the potential for 6 new large apartment high rises in downtown to begin construction this year.

That would be awesome. I guess I was thinking specifically of the apartment complex that was supposed to go up at the CBS site that got cancelled because of the changing market.

but you are clearly not happy in chicago and you should probably move. life's too short to be miserable. and besides, a defeatist attitude like yours will only hinder chicago's rise to glory anyway.

Well, I have a good job and my house has declined so much that I don't feel like selling it. Better or worse, I'm here for at least another few years. It will be interesting to see how things play out here.

[Chicago103]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

funny, crain's just had an article the other day about the potential for 6 new large apartment high rises in downtown to begin construction this year.

but you are clearly not happy in chicago and you should probably move. life's too short to be miserable. and besides, a defeatist attitude like yours will only hinder chicago's rise to glory anyway.

The defeatist attitude is rampant in our society today like the black plague. It seems that our society is now full of people who see everything as being half empty all the time.

[J_M_Tungsten]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

get a bike




get a bike




yeah, the tax hike sucks.





mine have been flat for the last 5 years. odd.





get a bike




get a bike





seriously, nothing, and i mean absolutely nothing, can more immediately and more profoundly positively affect your life in chicago than becoming a commuter and utility cyclist. discovering urban biking is literally one of the best things that has ever happened to me and since becoming a daily bike rider 4 years ago, my overall physical and mental health has skyrocketed and my love for the city of chicago has only grown stronger. i know that i say it a lot, but bicycles do in fact completely rule the universe................... and cars are stupid.

I agree with the bike riding thing 100%, and try to ride it when ever possible, but I have to say I am somewhat terrified to ride on the street with some of the drivers out there. I have personally witnessed some horrible bike accidents, which definitely has made me put the bike away for weeks after. The streets just are not safe enough to share with cars.

[Chase Unperson]

Originally Posted by Alliance

The bottom line is if the city isn't growing its not healthy. If anyone felt differently we wouldn't be having this discussion. Its actually kind of shocking to me that the numbers are so low given the tremendous resurgence of the city at both a local and global level over the past decade.

I expected the population decrease. I knew people would think, "oh look at all these high rises and luxury apartments going up" But in the working class parts of the cities, the former neighborhoods who staffed the steel factories and manufacturing industry in general, have been sublimating since the 90s.

I read in the Chicago Reader back in 2004 that there were 7000 corner bars in Chicago in the 80s. Now there is just over a 1000. Working class people may not have be as desirable as bankers and empty nesters, but they offered a lot to Chicago as a whole.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by whyhuhwhy

I know you are a hard ass Steely and I respect that, but I'm personally too much of a pussy (like many people) and can't bike to work when it's 10 degrees out.

you can, you just don't want to because you haven't seen the light. salvation can still be yours, you only need to accept bicycle in to your heart.


bicycle be with you, my brothers.

[Chase Unperson]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

I agree with the bike riding thing 100%, and try to ride it when ever possible, but I have to say I am somewhat terrified to ride on the street with some of the drivers out there. I have personally witnessed some horrible bike accidents, which definitely has made me put the bike away for weeks after. The streets just are not safe enough to share with cars.

Yeah and if you have three little kids try taking them to the grocery store and then coming home on a bike. In fact try taking P.T. with 3 kids under 5 and the 12 bags of groceries and family BS you need.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

The streets just are not safe enough to share with cars.

bullocks. if you know how to ride on city streets, it's no more dangerous than crossing the street on foot. yeah, you could always get hit by a bus, but that can happen anytime you leave your house.

fear can paralyze you, but the bicycle shall set you free!

[Trae]

Originally Posted by Venom

And here comes the first of the houston boosters.

Prepare for an onslaught from Houston posters.

Stating the truth is somehow some form of Houston boosterism. If I wasn't from Houston (and if someone from Chicago had said it), you would have never said this. It's going to happen, and I think the flight out of Chicago will increase once the recession eases up for good and people are able to gather more funds for a move. And most of the Houston posters left this site a while ago, so you don't have to worry.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by jcchii

The city's main battery is in hyperdrive while the hood empties out. Hopefully the core will continue to spread and revitalize neighborhoods one by one.

Right. That's the silver lining. "Progress" in the form of development has marched westward and southward. Hopefully that trend continues. If the projects planned for Hyde Park are all constructed and South Works gets off the ground, the South Side might really start to turn around. And the fact that Emmanuel-- in all likelihood Chicago's next mayor-- has voiced support for an extension of the Red Line suggests he's aware of some of the area's more pressing needs.

Originally Posted by jcchii

And the metro will remain in the 10 million range, making it one of Earth's top 50 urban blobs as seen from space

Ultimately, the metro is what matters most. That it gained 200k+ over the last ten years is definitely cause for optimism.

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ One thing for sure: the cocaine is gone.

No longer is Chicago high off of a false pretense that somehow "the city is back and on the attack!" like it has been for the past 10 years or so.

Time to come back down to earth and look in the mirror.

You simply can't look at New York City's (albeit slow) growth and brush Chicago's losses off as being due to gentrification, preference for suburban living, or taxes, or things of that nature. Chicago was once 1/2 the size of New York, and now it is less than 1/3 and still falling. Who the hell can take pride in that?

I really, genuinely hope that population is discussed at the next Mayoral debate.

I think you're being a bit over-the-top. No one takes pride in the declining population. The economic reality is that urban poor are a drain on city finances. If they constituted a majority of the 200k who left, the city's economic health will improve. Again, this is different from the moral reality, which unquestionably reflects badly on the city and requires a comprehensive evaluation of the city's engagement with the South Side.

Moreover, as jcchii stated, we're nearly certain that the numbers will bear out a more populous downtown, which is the region's economic engine. And then there's the fact that the region as a whole picked up a couple hundred thousand more residents-- definitely a good sign.

[Clevelumbus]

Chicago Population Sinks to 1920 Level
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

CHICAGO—A larger-than-expected exodus over the past 10 years reduced the population of Chicago to a level not seen in nearly a century.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday that during the decade ended in 2010, Chicago's population fell 6.9% to 2,695,598 people, fewer than the 2.7 million reported back in 1920.

After peaking at 3.62 million people in 1950, Chicago underwent a half century of decline that ended only when the 1990s boom years produced a small gain in the 2000 count. At that time, the city loudly celebrated its comeback.

But the recent recession accelerated a migration both to the metropolitan area's farthest suburbs and to the Southern U.S. Chicago nonetheless is expected to remain the nation's third-largest city, behind New York and Los Angeles and just ahead of Houston, for which final census numbers aren't in yet.

[rgolch]

Originally Posted by Alliance

The bottom line is if the city isn't growing its not healthy. If anyone felt differently we wouldn't be having this discussion. Its actually kind of shocking to me that the numbers are so low given the tremendous resurgence of the city at both a local and global level over the past decade.

The drop is a little surprising to me also, given all the construction that happened in the last decade. But when you really think about it, what did we really think was gonna happen when they replace dense highrise housing in Cabrini Green with townhomes? Moreover, when things did start to gentrify, my bet is that low income families got replaced with DINKS or single professionals. Truth be told, Chicago is a better city in my opinion than it was ten years ago; but your kidding yourself if you think most parts of the city are what most middle to upper middle class people are looking for in terms of where to live when raising a family.

I'm kinda bummed about the population loss, but I still like what's happening to the city.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by whyhuhwhy

I guess I was thinking specifically of the apartment complex that was supposed to go up at the CBS site that got cancelled because of the changing market.

that was condos. the downtown condo market is still fucked, and will be for a while. rental on the other hand, will likely be seeing an uptick in construction starting this year.

Originally Posted by whyhuhwhy

Well, I have a good job and my house has declined so much that I don't feel like selling it. Better or worse, I'm here for at least another few years.

ugghh, that sucks. putting up with your debbie downer syndrome for another few years will be tedious, to say the least. what if we all chip in for a one way flight to texas for you and your wife? does that sweeten the deal enough? you will like texas; there's no traffic or taxes in texas.

[Xing]

It really sucks to hear this news about Chicago. It honestly has never felt to me like the city was losing people. I figured the population would have grown, even if by a little. I guess not.

[pip]

ugghh, that sucks. putting up with your debbie downer syndrome for another few years will be tedious, to say the least. what if we all chip in for a one way flight to texas for you and your wife?

^hey I am on the way to your place to drop off some money for the fund

[DBR96A]

McHenry, Kane, Grundy and Will Counties each had population growth percentages in the double-digits, and Kendall County has a population growth percentage in the triple-digits! Were the people who moved there fed a bunch of horseshit like the people in the Dust Belt? I hope not.

Can people who live out that far actually hear Chicago radio stations 100% clearly? The coverage areas I've seen from them look pretty small, and don't seem to cover the most far-flung parts of the metropolitan area.

[Thundertubs]

Perhaps we should create a separate Chicago census thread? The population loss was a lot greater than expected and has generated a lot of questions and thoughts.

It would leave room in this thread for other census news from around the country. The Chicago talk has kind of overtaken everything else.

[iheartthed]

This thread has gotten so interesting in the last 5 hours.

I just want to chime in and say that I highly doubt it is the extremely poor black Chicagoans who are ditching the city in droves. It's most likely a continuation of the trend of middle class black families moving from urban centers to the suburbs and/or the south (well really just to Atlanta, North Carolina and Texas). This has actually been happening in most major urban centers in the Northeast and Great Lakes region.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by mongoXZ

Illinois, the new Ohio!

...except that the populations of both Illinois and Chicagoland have increased, and that their unemployment rates are lower than the U.S. average.

Originally Posted by Alliance

The bottom line is if the city isn't growing its not healthy. If anyone felt differently we wouldn't be having this discussion. Its actually kind of shocking to me that the numbers are so low given the tremendous resurgence of the city at both a local and global level over the past decade.

That is not the bottom line. Again, it depends who left. If it were mostly middle class families, then you'd be right: it would not be healthy. If it were mostly poor families, on the other hand, the city would be unaffected or healthier from a purely economic point of view.

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

putting up with your debbie downer syndrome for another few years will be tedious, to say the least. what if we all chip in for a one way flight to texas for you and your wife?