US cities whose population has declined since the 1950s or later

[bayviews]

Originally Posted by krazeeboi

The most recent estimates for Atlanta put the city at 537,958, the largest its ever been. I'm more than certain that the 2010 Census will confirm that.

Yeah, I can certainly beleive that.

Atlanta's really undertaken a lot more smart in-town development over the past decade. Thats surely upped the residential densities within the city limits.

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by EastSider

I can't believe someone is comparing van der rohe to Holiday Inns. You're going to architectual hell. Say hi to Gehry.

Why would you knock Frank Gehry? Clearly, you belong in architectural hell right there with him....

[Jim856796]

Originally Posted by bayviews

Well, Pittsburgh has been getting quite a bit of positive press recently as a city that has weathered the recent downturn better than many other "rustbelt" cities & has made significant strides in restructuring its economy.

Pittsburgh has long done well when it comes to building infrastructure & the downtown Triangle has remained a fairly vibrant business & retail center.

Whether Pittsburgh reverses the region's long-time population decline remains to be seen.

Pittsburgh in recent years has constructed Heinz Field, PNC Park, a new David Lawrence Convention Center, Three PNC Plaza, and the Consol Energy Center. We should consider this a de facto "Renaissance III".

A big planning disaster that occurred during the Renaissance I programme was the Allegheny Center. The street grid was eliminated and 518 buildings were razed to make way for 2 professional buildings, 4 apartment complexes totaling 840 units, 50 townhouses, a shopping mall, and a 3-acre (12,000 m2) public square. The complex was contained in a rectangular roundabout. It was an urban planning failure and the Allegheny Center's shopping mall was considered a dead mall by 1990. It has been primarily marketed as cheap office space since.

But enough about Pittsburgh, let's move over to St. Louis, where during the 1960s, there once stood a massive housing project that was extremely decrepit and difficult to renovate by the end of the decade. Its name was Pruitt-Igoe. Built during the mid 50s and demolished during the early to mid-70s.

In various other cities, the creation of housing projects (such as Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes) and other urban renewal projects usually results in street grids being thrown away. Usually the street grid is full of old and shabby buildings that are too small to be kept and somewhat difficult to get a drastic upgrade.

[Jim856796]

Here are a couple of docimentaries about Detroit that have been posted on YouTube:

The Detroit You've Never Met, which is about the city's failed bid for the 1968 Summer Olympics, which Mexico City hosted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9uWSNbHEps

Detroit: City on the Move
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ull2H...eature=related

[desertpunk]

Detroit 1946

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/

[CrazyAboutCities]

Heard Las Vegas losing people too. I am not sure how much did Las Vegas lost due to Great Recession. It was reported on CNN few days ago.

[bayviews]

Originally Posted by desertpunk

Detroit 1946

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/

What a fantastic picture, a reminder of how truly great Detroit really was in its heyday!

[hudkina]

That pic isn't all that different today:

image hosted on flickr

© S E A N D U

[isaidso]

I have to go visit Detroit. It really was one of the US' great cities. Maybe one day it can be again.

[bayviews]

Originally Posted by hudkina

That pic isn't all that different today:

image hosted on flickr

© S E A N D U

Yea, Detroit's contemporary skyline does looks quite impressive!

BTW, I just finished perusing the last of the intriguing yearlong Time series on Detroit.

Hudkina, any comments or thoughts on the Time series?

[Jim856796]

Most of the cities with declining populations in America are in the Rust Belt, an area where deindustrialized cities suffer from population loss and high unemployment.

Also, Detroit has a plan to tear down around 10,000 abandoned buildings (most of which are houses) by the middle of the 2010s decade. Buffalo also has a plan to cut down on their number of abandoned houses by 5,000.

[bayviews]

Originally Posted by Jim856796

Most of the cities with declining populations in America are in the Rust Belt, an area where deindustrialized cities suffer from population loss and high unemployment.

Also, Detroit has a plan to tear down around 10,000 abandoned buildings (most of which are houses) by the middle of the 2010s decade. Buffalo also has a plan to cut down on their number of abandoned houses by 5,000.

The mentality of the Braindead!

Why not let's come up with something smarter!

Frankly I can't see how tearing down yet more housing & buildings will help these types of struggling cities get back up on their feet. It just adds ever more vacant "prarie".

Rather, places with excess housing should try welcome more immigrants & "occupy" types who could fix up vacant housing & refill these neighborhoods.

[Jim856796]

It is stated that there is talk of developing those urban prairies into urban farms and new parks, even if it means destroying entire neighborhoods.

[bayviews]

Originally Posted by Jim856796

It is stated that there is talk of developing those urban prairies into urban farms and new parks, even if it means destroying entire neighborhoods.

Just recently in Buffalo it was found that an ex-con became a millionaire on city contracts demolishing a good chunk of that's city East Side.

Of course, he didn't however tear down HIS own neighborhood. We need to look into these demolition scams & those who are in line to profit from the mindless destruction of our cities.

Remember when urban renewal was a touted as a great idea!

[CNB30]

The Good thing is that some of those cities have rebounded.