Evansville needs to focus on what attracts people! Hint: It is not bricks and mortar
Today, the New York Times published a series of papers by recognized economic development experts on the phenomena of shrinking cities. Of course the cities of discussion were the usual suspects of Detroit, Cleveland, Youngstown, Dayton, and other places that peaked in population in the 1950’s and have experienced continuous declines since then. Evansville did merit mention in the New York Times but the topic is close to home and the percentages of shrinkage of population in Evansville are comparable to many of the cities being discussed. Of course Detroit is the poster child for urban failure and is currently being seriously considered to be beyond saving.
The American Midwest is strewn with shrinking cities and Evansville is just one of many that were designated as “Forgotten Cities†by MIT in a study of cities that have essentially become obsolete. The solutions and comments in the series of papers are as applicable to Evansville as they are to Detroit and Cleveland. The state of shrinkage that Evansville finds itself in is to a large extent for the same reasons that Detroit and its cohorts have been hemorrhaging people.
Here are some excerpts from the papers. We encourage those who are interested or in responsible positions to click on the link and read the entire contents.
“Can anyone point to one city, just one, where any of these ‘renewal’ schemes have worked to regenerate, rather than further erode, a city? Just one. Needless to say, there aren’t any. The record of schemes to revive cities by assembling and remaking neighborhoods is littered with disastrous unintended consequences. People thrown of out their homes, neighborhoods destroyed, historic structures leveled, and the community fabric of too many once great cities ripped to shreds.†Richard Florida
“With the release last week of the 2010 Census figures recording Detroit’s population down 25 percent to 713,777 residents, I have been quite amazed to hear people, including prominent economists and even one of my students, say — out loud — Detroit cannot be saved!†Toni L. Griffin
“In this vein, declining cities must first and foremost go back to basic policy framework that focuses on people, not bricks and mortar. They should ensure their neighborhoods are safe, cut the costs of doing (and opening) businesses, ensure access to quality elementary and secondary education, provide transparency in government spending and programs and maximize the value of their existing physical infrastructure.†Sam Staley
“Sometimes when you find “shrinking cities,†you find growing — and even economically vibrant — regions.†Brad Whitehead
“History is full of examples of shrinking cities — from collapsed empires to abandoned rural towns that failed to maintain adequate infrastructure, diversify their economy or adjust to changing demographics.†Ellen Dunham-Jones
Link to New York Times Discussion
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/03/28/the-incredible-shrinking-city?hp
Link to MIT Study on Forgotten Cities
http://web.mit.edu/dusp/dusp_extension_unsec/people/faculty/lhoyt/Hoyt_Leroux_FC.pdf
“Here are some commonalities for
the ones [Cities] that have been doing better: First,
they focus on amenity development. The cities
that did better have focused on arts, culture,
the environment. They realized that they could
not progress until they addressed the amenity
issue and made themselves places where people
wanted to live. Secondly, cities that had colleges
or universities that took an active interest in
the city—that made a difference. Third, cities
that were more effective in terms of regional
cooperation were more likely to thrive and do
better. The fourth commonality is building new
leadership and engaging community. What are the
barriers to getting new leadership involved? Can
you integrate that new leadership into the existing
civic infrastructure? The last commonality is
building on the strengths of the new immigrants.
Cities that identify the new immigrants not as the
problem but as an asset seem to do better.”
Can anyone point to one city, just one, where any of these ‘renewal’ schemes have worked to regenerate, rather than further erode, a city? Just one. Needless to say, there aren’t any.” –Richard Florida
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Area_Projects
The only criticism I have of MAPS is that they leveled a lot of historical buildings. Other than that, it worked big time!
I say be ahead of the curve and move to a 3rd World country that’s developing before the U.S. becomes a 3rd World country that ain’t.
Urban sprawl is a factor. County Councils allow businesses to keep moving outward from the inner city and leave empty buildings. People want to live around their grocery stores, post offices, pharmacies, etc.
Not around abandoned buildings and homes. It is up to the planners of a city to allow or not allow new development. Businesses that have to remodel older buildings to move into a thriving city make a profit & will do it to get into the market.
That is exactly what we need. A bunch of pencil-necked geeks and politicians telling people what they can and cannot do with their own property. Yeah, lets put the nerds at Area Plan in charge of everyones life. Things will be bound to get better!!!
Residential follows infrastructure. Commercial follows residential. Freedom to choose and the open market determines both growth patterns. Property owners are entitled to the highest and fullest use of their property so long as their use does not negatively impact their neighbors or Mother Nature. That’s the supreme entitlement!
So I guess you’re OK with an abandoned WalMart building on nearly every corner of Evansville?
So far they’re all filled with other businesses since Walmart moved to new locations. Well, except the one on the west side which Sears/K-mart bought and won’t lease out. What’s your point anyway?
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