Comments on: In Flint, Trying to Reinvent a Shrinking City http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/07/15/in-flint-trying-to-reinvent-a-shrinking-city/ Your daily source for national transportation policy news and analysis. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:57:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Donald A. Coffin http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/07/15/in-flint-trying-to-reinvent-a-shrinking-city/comment-page-1/#comment-77111 Donald A. Coffin Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:23:06 +0000 http://dc.streetsblog.org/?p=8051#comment-77111 Gary, Indiana has experienced similar decline. Its population has dropped from about 170,000 in 1970 to about 96,000 (estimated) in 2008. Employment in its industrial base--steel--has dropped by over 70% in the same period (although the mills now have the ability to produce more steel now than 40 years ago). Downtown Gary, which used to be the second largest retail center in Indiana (after downtown Indianapolis) is now mostly vacant buildings and vacant lots. The amount of totally empty space in the middle of what used to be a densely-settled city is striking. If the vacant and dangerously deteriorating structures (housing and commercial/industrial) were to be razed, much more of the city would be vacant land. The open space in Gary is not the result of a plan, however, but has just happened. Gary, Indiana has experienced similar decline. Its population has dropped from about 170,000 in 1970 to about 96,000 (estimated) in 2008. Employment in its industrial base–steel–has dropped by over 70% in the same period (although the mills now have the ability to produce more steel now than 40 years ago). Downtown Gary, which used to be the second largest retail center in Indiana (after downtown Indianapolis) is now mostly vacant buildings and vacant lots. The amount of totally empty space in the middle of what used to be a densely-settled city is striking. If the vacant and dangerously deteriorating structures (housing and commercial/industrial) were to be razed, much more of the city would be vacant land.

The open space in Gary is not the result of a plan, however, but has just happened.

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