Originally posted by IUPNation
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Possibly since the population decline was under 1%. Its still too easy to live outside the city or the county and commute. There's a lot of residential development going on downtown but most of it is gentrification. Nobody's fixing up some of the better residential neighborhoods unfortunately.
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Yep. That's a big part. A lot of these have also lost their "destination purpose." They thrived as a manufacturing center, agricultural center, or transportation hub and none of those purposes are relevant like they were decades before. So people leave to find opportunity or wind down their life elsewhere. Look at places like New Castle, Meadville, and Titusville. Once thriving, now struggling. Out East, look at Scranton, Allentown, and York. Same situations.Originally posted by complaint_hopeful View PostThe new generations are having less kids...so as the older generation dies off, you have less people replacing them. So lots of areas might lose in the future.
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Not exactly. If you have 2 elderly people in a household and they both die, that's -2. However, if they are replaced by a young family with even 1 child, that's +3. 3-2 = +1. I haven't looked at the Allegheny County stats more closely yet but I think with the aged population and the gentrification FS82 mentioned that is exactly the source of the modest growth in Allegheny County.Originally posted by complaint_hopeful View PostThe new generations are having less kids...so as the older generation dies off, you have less people replacing them. So lots of areas might lose in the future.
So, obviously, a declining birth rate will decrease population over time, but in PA if there is growth among households with children that will more than offset the death rate. PA's high average age is a big factor with everything in the state.
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When is the last time you've visited Allentown? The A-B-E corridor (Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton) has been a growth area for decades. (pretty much since Billy Joel wrote his song Allentown).Originally posted by Fightingscot82 View Post
Yep. That's a big part. A lot of these have also lost their "destination purpose." They thrived as a manufacturing center, agricultural center, or transportation hub and none of those purposes are relevant like they were decades before. So people leave to find opportunity or wind down their life elsewhere. Look at places like New Castle, Meadville, and Titusville. Once thriving, now struggling. Out East, look at Scranton, Allentown, and York. Same situations.
A lot of the growth in the SE PA region is due to Hispanics and Asians. Nationwide, that is the source of growth, as well. Over the last 30 years or so, Allentown (or the entire corridor) has been pulled into both the NY and Phila. spheres of influence in a unique way, based on geography.
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We know that. But +5% for the city and the region is a big thing after declining from 1950-2010. Plus, when comparing to Phoenix keep in mind that the City of Philadelphia is 145 square miles - very compact city limits. Phoenix is a sprawling 716 square miles. The media seems to also be comparing the 1.6 mil in Philly ( 145 sq. miles) to Allegheny County 's 1.2 mil (745 sq. miles).Originally posted by ironmaniup View Post
Philadelphia's growth is small compared to the other major cities - Phoenix passed Philly as the 5th largest city. NYC grew more than Philly. Philly is a 3rd rate city. The 4 fastest growing states ? Utah, Idaho, Texas North Dakota.
BTW, how is Philly a 3rd rate city? In football?
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FS82, your comment comparing New Castle, Meadville, and Titusville, with Scranton, Allentown, and York in the east makes me wonder if people living in the western and northern areas of PA really are grasping the extent of the downward spiral of the communities and regions.Originally posted by Fightingscot82 View Post
Yep. That's a big part. A lot of these have also lost their "destination purpose." They thrived as a manufacturing center, agricultural center, or transportation hub and none of those purposes are relevant like they were decades before. So people leave to find opportunity or wind down their life elsewhere. Look at places like New Castle, Meadville, and Titusville. Once thriving, now struggling. Out East, look at Scranton, Allentown, and York. Same situations.
For example, while not the booming places they were in their heyday, York County (York) still had a 4.9% growth rate. Lackawanna County (Scranton) is a dying place but still managed a positive growth rate of 0.7%. Luzerne (Wilkes-Barre_ in the same situation as Scranton area but still had a 1.5% growth rate. Lehigh County (Allentown/Bethlehem) growth rate was 7.2% and Northampton County (Bethlehem/Easton) was 5.1%. Compare these rates to the large negative numbers across western and northern PA and then consider the cumulative effect over 20-30 years and it's a dire situation.
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