Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Disappearing U.S. city of the day: Buffalo, New York


Source:  Wikipedia

Buffalo's population peaked at 580,132 in 1950.  Its 2017 estimated population is 258,612 -- a drop of 321,520, or 55%.

African-Americans comprised 6.3% of the population in 1950.

Buffalo in located in Erie County, where the population peaked at 1.113,491 in 1970.  Its 2017 estimated population is 925,526, a drop of 17%.  

Related reading:
Can Buffalo ever come back?  (The Sun, 10/19/2007)
At the onset of the Great Depression, Buffalo had 573,000 inhabitants, making it the 13th-largest city in America. In the 75 years that followed, this once-mighty metropolis lost 55% of its population, a decline most dramatic in its blighted inner city but also apparent in its broader metropolitan area, one of the 20 most quickly deteriorating such regions in the nation. 27% of Buffalo's residents are poor, more than twice the national average. The median family income is just $33,000, less than 60% of the nationwide figure of $55,000. Buffalo's collapse—and that of other troubled upstate New York cities like Syracuse and Rochester—seems to cry out for a policy response.
Since moving to Manhattan in 2008, I’ve frequently returned to witness Buffalo’s transformation: dilapidated grain silos reimagined as popular venues for cultural events; vacant waterfront lots playing host to concerts and public-arts shows; architectural masterpieces inching closer and closer to full restoration; and telltale signs of a downtown revival, including boutique hotels, microbreweries, and even kombucheries. 
Buffalo’s new life has come from both natives and international talent seeing the metropolis with fresh eyes

The disappearing cities:
Baltimore, Maryland.  (12/31/2018)
Cairo, Illinois.   (1/5/2019)
Cleveland, Ohio (1/2/2018)
Detroit, Michigan.  (1/1/2019)
Flint, Michigan.  (1/7/2019)
Gary, Indiana.  (1/4/2019)
Johnstown, Pennsylvania.  (1/6/2018)
St. Louis, Missouri.  (1/2/2019)

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