America's Ten Dead Cities

[Newsjock]

Source: 24/7 Wall St.

A city does not die when its last resident moves away. Death happens when municipalities lose the industries and vital populations that made them important cities.

The economy has evolved so much since the middle of the 20th Century that many cities that were among the largest and most vibrant in America have collapsed. Some have lost more than half of their residents. Others have lost the businesses that made them important centers of finance, manufacturing, and commerce.

Most of America’s Ten Dead Cities were once major manufacturing hubs and others were important ports or financial services centers. The downfall of one city, New Orleans, began in the 1970s, but was accelerated by Hurricane Katrina. ...

1. Buffalo
2. Flint
3. Hartford
4. Cleveland
5. New Orleans
6. Detroit
7. Albany
8. Atlantic City
9. Allentown
10. Galveston

Read more: http://247wallst.com/2010/08/23/americas-ten-dead-cities-from-detroit-to-new-orleans/

[Hannah Bell]

1. Ten cities killed by PURPOSEFUL DISINVESTMENT.

Killed by capital.

They can kill anyplace they want to, just by pulling their money out.

[rpannier]

6. But that's good for America

Because somewhere out there is an entrepreneur with a bold new idea that will employ hundreds of people -- in some country where they can get away with paying their labor force 10 cents a day

[Mimosa]

2. North or South, there are those 'rust belt' cities

When I'd first moved to NOLA there used to be factories where young people could get jobs. And in Louisiana in the rural areas near Lafayette there were car factories. Levis jeans were made in Louisiana among other places.

Yes, the capitalists were allowed and even tax supported in their moves to dis-invest in manufacturing jobs.

Naomi Klein's books (starting with No Logo) explain it pretty well.

[JI7]

3. doesn't New Orleans have Culture ?

[slampoet]

29. When was the last time you paid for culture from an other city and the money went to that city?

[texastoast]

4. How did Galveston get on there?

I'm surprised. It's still pretty vital. Lots of new vacation/weekend homes there. Heavy heavy cruise industry.

And it has some of the most wonderful old homes in wonderful shape. Unlike Houston, Galveston has a soul and a sense of history.

[ScreamingMeemie]

32. Because the guy's a blogger...that's how.

He doesn't know what he's talking about, but thinks he does.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/08/galveston_dead_cities.php

[Lorien]

5. Cleveland is a lot nicer now than it was when I lived there 25 years ago

or when my dad lived there 50 years ago.

[donco]

7. I believe I would

leave New Orleans off that list.

[msongs]

8. the most dishonest phrase in this article is.......

"Death happens when municipalities lose the industries..." Municipalities do NOT "lose the industries", those industries are deliberately taken away by corporations looking for higher profits no matter how much they wreck their former clients, employees, and customers.

[Smarmie Doofus]

9. St. Louis is "deader" than Albany.

You can sunbathe in a reclining lawn chair at rush hour in the middle of the street in downtown St.L. ( At least you could do this 5 years ago.)

Try that in Albany ( or Buffalo or Hartford for that matter) and you'd be toast.... no pun intended.

[Hannah Bell]

17. there will be a revival in st louis fairly shortly, i think.

[saracat]

10. Add Phoenix to that list. Now we don't even have tourism!

[OutNow]

11. Allentown Native

I was born in Allentown, went to high school there and attended a local college. I worked for 4 local companies; 2 medium and 2 large firms. I left in 1982. 3 of the 4 companies I worked for are now completely gone. In addition to the places where I worked; Bethlehem Steel, Western Electric, and Mack Truck were all large employers with unions, good pay and good benefits 40 years ago in the Allentown area. Gone. Gone. And almost Gone.

On the carcass of the steel plant in South Bethlehem they opened a casino last year.

Today Allentown is a city with high crime, bad schools, and crumbling homes. It is a dead city.

Well what the hell do you expect when nearly 100,000 good jobs disappear forever?

[Mimosa]

12. Outnow, casinos seem to accompany despair

What you posted is true. I'm in the South but have long paid attention to what has been allowed to be taken from workers up North.

Now we can't even buy anything made in the USA because so little is. And what has happened to people from lack of jobs is horrible.

[Javaman]

22. About 3 years ago I was in Allentown...

I had to see the old Bethlehem Steel plant.

I'm a history geek.

I knew that the plant had shut down, but I wasn't prepared for the reality.

It was so damn depressing. I could see the once thriving "metropolis" among the ghostly remains.

I couldn't help myself but choke up.

While there, a security guard rolled up the chain link fence were I was standing. He asked what I was doing there.

I explained, he looked sort of far off then down at the ground. "well, I know what you mean", he stated, then went on, "just be careful around here, there are crack heads that use this area and will rob people for a dime".

I thanked him for his time, took a few more pictures and moved on.

From cities of steel to stolen cities.

[OutNow]

24. Memory of Bethlehem Steel

In 1968 Hubert Humphrey was the Democratic candidate for President. Pennsylvania was, as it is today, a swing state, and the HHH campaign scheduled a rally in October at the United Steelworkers union hall in Bethlehem. I was NOT happy with his support of the Vietnam War, but knew that a Nixon victory would be bad news, so I went to the rally.

It was awesome. The union hall was packed to the rafters. Thousands of steelworkers and retirees. Representatives of ILGWU, IBEW, UAW, IUE and other unions up on the stage. Democratic elected officials by the dozens. The mayor of nearly every town was a Democrat back then.

The major theme was "this is a union town by God, and nobody fucks with us around here". HHH gave a good speech, probably his regular stump speech, but also spoke about the repeal of the Taft Hartley Act, the plight of the poor, and the need for a government role in planning the economy. Every high point was met with a standing ovation.

Now there is a casino on the grounds of the former steel plant. And the local elected officials, both Democrat and Republican, were delighted to get it, with a promise of hundreds of low wage jobs.

And when was the last time a Democrat running for national office spoke about the need to repeal Taft Hartley or even about the plight of the poor and downtrodden? I can't think of one in recent memory.

[Javaman]

25. This is why...

I get so disgusted sometimes with what passes for the Democratic party.

It seems that today's party has no problem with resurrecting the corpse of the past to serve their needs today. When the two look nothing alike.

We have lost so much. Some people today have no idea just how much.

[Gaedel]

26. Hubert Humphrey was really great

He understood that the "base" of the Democratic party was blue collar union workers.

He was a victim of the Vietnam War which divided the blue collar base of the party from the party intellectuals,

[Romulox]

13. Los Vegas? Entire state of Fla? Phoenix?

That list already feels out of date. There are cities dying all over this country as we speak...

[starroute]

14. Poor Allentown never gets any respect

Even the picture in that article makes it look like a bomb hit it. Allentown may not be a center of commerce and industry any more, but it's far from devastated -- just in a state of genteel decline.

But then, the description with the picture speaks of "Bethlehem to its east and Pittsburgh to its west." Since Allentown and Bethlehem border on one another and essentially form one continuous city, while Pittsburgh is 237 miles away as the crow flies, this suggests the writer has never been to Allentown and doesn't know much about it.

Nice going, Douglas A. McIntyre, whoever you are.

[SoCalDem]

27. One thing that so many of the distressed cities could do, would be to tear down

the decrepit buildings & offer the land for community gardening. Even if they paid guards, it would be better to guard a GARDEN, than a creaky old rusted out skeleton of a building.

and they could get back to just plain old green spaces. Not every green space HAS to be a formal "park" with all the expenses that go along with it.

Mother Nature WILL reclaim land, but you first have to get the asphalt & concrete out of the way.

[Recursion]

15. I'd put St. Louis or Kansas City above a few of those.

Like Atlantic City, which still has tourism, and Albany, which still has government.

[annabanana]

16. (You call ~ that ~ . . . "government?)

snort

It's a stinking carcass.

[Recursion]

18. Albany's existence means Marionneaux isn't anywhere else

And that's a great service the city does to every other city in the country.

[RockaFowler]

19. Wow I used to live in 3 of those cities

Detroit, Hartford & Flint. I was born in Hartford - what happened there?? I haven't been back since my Grandparents passed away in the 1990's. I know what happened to both Flint and Detroit. And it is a damn shame.

Why is Atlantic City on this list?? And not Las Vegas??

[rucky]

20. Dayton's so dead, they even forgot to put us on the list.

[ThomWV]

21. Yeah, but why worry, DC is prospering isn't it?

[Javaman]

23. These are just the cities, what of the thousands of towns?

the corporate culture cancer.

[taught_me_patience]

28. How about Youngstown?

Cincinnati?
Phoenix?
Riverside?
Akron?
Detroit?

[xchrom]

30. I've lived long enough to have been in most of those places

And have seen the country turn it's back on them.

Very symbolic of our time.

[onethatcares]

31. fucking casinos,

every gauddammm state in the country wants casinos. like there's something magic about tossing your money away to the house, like you're gonna get it all back and mommy and the kids will all be like wally and the beav.


our country is dead, the corpse is just being picked over by the vultures at this point.

I grew up in a union town too, Reading PA, so I know exactly what those in Allentown are feeling.