http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Detropia/70229260?locale=e...
Watched this weekend and it is available for streaming. Pretty scary to think this sort of decline could hit any major city.
Why has this been downvoted?
I couldn't help but think of what Newburgh would look like if it was in France, Germany or England. Probably a tourist attraction. Makes you kinda depressed at how easily Americans give up on urban areas.
I know a big "urban renewal (read: slum-clearing) project in Newburgh demolished the historic waterfront in the 60s/70s. Then they never built anything to replace it.
Here's an good overview of the boom/bust: http://www.newburghrevealed.org/historymigration.htm
"One long time resident remarked, "Newburgh was a nice, solid town. Then everything changed. Just like that""
Another great example of that is Washington DC, which has incredibly strict building limitations and a large number f protected historical buildings, which means that despite massive tourism, the city is largely a slum with millions of workers choosing really long commutes over living in the city.
It doesn't seem like there's any great pattern out there for managing a declining urban area. Everyone knows how development should work - increasing density and infrastructure - but I don't think there's a good plan for what to do when an area inevitably goes into decline (and they all do sooner or later, if only temporarily.) Like NYC in the 70s, when folks were burning down buildings because it was better than maintaining them.
Then, after something more like 30 or 40 years, real estate is affordable again (sometimes dirt cheap) and people can buy, but not most of the people who live there.