Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Gary, Indiana
The industrial rot has been going on for over 50 years. These Wikipedia charts on metro populations in the US are interesting. Between 1950 and 1960, the populations of Chicago, Philly, Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis and Boston, all Top 10 cities in 1950, peaked. The de-industrialization of America started way before NAFTA, way before the Chinese started manufacturing our consumer goods.
Stepping back further, one could say the de-industrialization of America started almost 100 years ago as the mill towns of New England started dying. The rot had set in long ago, with a respite during WWII. New England is filled with large factories/mills of various conditions. Ones closer to Boston have been refurbed into trendy places like lofts and office spaces, but most of the old factory buildings outside of easy driving distance from Boston are either a memory or soon will be.
Update: I just realized where the the writers for The Simpsons got their inspiration for the Monorail Guy. Duh.
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2 comments:
Chicago has also done a nice job turning their once warehouses and factories into lofts.
what would an employer have to pay workers in that city to have a decent quality of life? $15/hr? I would imagine a house could be had for $50K.
Or, maybe the whole area should be leveled and turned back into a cattle ranch.
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