Urban centers draw more young, educated adults

 

Educated 20- and 30-somethings are flocking to live downtown in the USA's largest cities — even urban centers that are losing population. In more than two-thirds of the nation's 51 largest cities, the young, college-educated population in the past decade grew twice as fast within 3 miles of the urban center as in the rest of the metropolitan area — up an average 26% compared with 13% in other parts. Even in Detroit, where the population shrank by 25% since 2000, downtown added 2,000 young and educated residents during that time, up 59% , according to analysis of Census data by Impresa Inc., an economic consulting firm.

 

"This is a real glimmer of hope," says Carol Coletta, head of CEOs for Cities, a non-profit consortium of city leaders that commissioned the research. "Clearly, the next generation of Americans is looking for different kinds of lifestyles — walkable, art, culture, entertainment."

 

In Cleveland, which lost 17% of its population, downtown added 1,300 college-educated people ages 25 to 34, up 49%.

 

More below:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-04-01-1Ayoungrestless01_ST_N.htm?sms_ss=twitter&at_xt=4d959a9cc8ce3e5c%2C0

 

 

Gain from 2000 to 2009 in 25- to 34-year-olds who have a four-year degree or higher and live within 3 miles of a metro area's CBD:

 

Atlanta 9,722.2 61%

 

Austin 3,725.6 24%

 

Baltimore 8,625.0 66%

 

Birmingham, Ala. -601.0 -12%

 

Boston 20,558.0 40%

 

Buffalo 1,101.1 27%

 

Charlotte 2,180.1 34%

 

Chicago 15,886.6 33%

 

Cincinnati 2,000.9 28%

 

Cleveland 1,301.7 49%

 

Columbus 4,032.9 45%  

 

Dallas 5,080.6 56%

 

Denver 5,236.9 25%

 

Detroit 1,967.6 59%

 

Hartford, Conn. 426.6 8%

 

Houston 6,518.9 62%

 

Indianapolis 2,669.6 83%

 

Jacksonville 610.8 41%

 

Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.  1,300.3 50%

 

Las Vegas 304.4 19%

 

Los Angeles 5,695.2 55%

 

Louisville 443.8 10%

 

Memphis 964.5 26%

 

Miami 4,378.2 68%

 

Milwaukee 3,655.7 38%

 

Minneapolis 4,268.8 23%

 

Nashville 1,936.7 41%

 

New Orleans -2,220.8 -24%

 

New York 26,125.9 13%

 

Oklahoma City 106.2 5%

 

Orlando 1,692.5 28%

 

Philadelphia 16,032.2 57%

 

Phoenix 306.5 14%

 

Pittsburgh 3,154.9 40%

 

Portland, Ore. 4,083.3 22%

 

Providence 3,484.3 38%

 

Raleigh, N.C. 1,670.8 28%

 

Richmond, Va.  1,058.5 16%

 

Riverside, Calif.  1,572.8 65%

 

Rochester, N.Y.  809.8 8%

 

Sacramento 2,053.6 28%

 

St. Louis 2,699.6 87%

 

Salt Lake City 1,903.0 21%

 

San Antonio 146.7 7%

 

San Diego 5,638.4 54%

 

San Francisco 3,809.3 5%

 

San Jose 1,201.4 10%

 

Seattle 5,696.4 24%

 

Tampa 974.2 21%

 

Virginia Beach 566.7 15%

 

Washington 13,610.2 31%

time once again to bring out the old downtown population count saw for cleveland...how exactly did they count the downtown numbers? flats west bank and justice center included? or no? residential college students? china/asiatown? all the way east to the innerbelt? etc.

 

i always hope someone can say definitively, but seems like no one ever can. i'm sure there are similar count issues with other cities as well.

Downtowns/CBDs seem to be on the upswing, but why aren't urban neighborhoods seeing the same revival overall? They offer what downtown does, just outside of downtown and usually has more character.

 

^There are not enough young, educated adults to go around.

Its hard to unbrainwash 20+ years of negative views and opinons of urban living and big cities.

Downtowns/CBDs seem to be on the upswing, but why aren't urban neighborhoods seeing the same revival overall? They offer what downtown does, just outside of downtown and usually has more character.

 

Well, a 3-mile radius can include those older, urban neighborhoods.  3 miles in Columbus would include just about all of them, from the SN, GV, OTE, Franklinton, etc.  Obviously they have seen various degrees of revitalization, but I do think the activity level overall has picked up from say, 2, 5 or certainly 10 years ago.  Also, consider that even if the immediate Downtown lacks the acitivity that some of the immediate surrounding neighborhoods have, it is at least a centralized location for all of them.  For my part, I would rather live Downtown for that very reason. 

I'm not a fan of arbitrary "_-mile radius" studies.  A 3 mile radius from Downtown Cleveland's central point (Public Square I'm assuming) is dominated by the Industrial Valley, Burke Lakefront Airport, and Lake Erie.  The other half of that does include many of Cleveland's gentrifying areas, though- Downtown, Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit Shoreway, Payne-Sterling, Central.

 

Even worse, this study uses the 2009 estimate data.  I want to see the real, 2010 data.

I dont really see whats so great about this information. The city of Detroit loses probably almost a quarter million people but 2000 yuppies moved downtown so there's hope? Sounds like another song and dance by some folks who read Richard Florida's book.

For Detroit, it is irrelevant, but for Ohio cities I think it gives a lot of hope for the future of the core.

There's no way that current downtown growth offsets all the neighborhood losses, but growth somewhere is at least something to build on.  Bottom line is this has to happen if there's to be any hope at all.  Cities can't just be respositories for the lower class.

I'm not a fan of arbitrary "_-mile radius" studies.  A 3 mile radius from Downtown Cleveland's central point (Public Square I'm assuming) is dominated by the Industrial Valley, Burke Lakefront Airport, and Lake Erie.  The other half of that does include many of Cleveland's gentrifying areas, though- Downtown, Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit Shoreway, Payne-Sterling, Central.

 

Even worse, this study uses the 2009 estimate data.  I want to see the real, 2010 data.

 

Right, even in Columbus which doesn't seem to have the geographic phenomena of the other 2 C's, there's still quarries, the river, rail yards, highways, a nature preserve, flood plains and other places where people can't live in these mileage-based concentric circles.

No surprise downtowns are hot with young college grads. And Cleveland's numbers are really impressive.