Economic Distress and Resurgence in U.S. Central Cities

Abstract

Abstract:This paper provides a review of the literature on U.S. central city growth and distress during the second half of the twentieth century.It finds that city growth tended to be higher in metropolitan areas with favorable weather, higher growth, and greater human capital, while distress was strongly correlated with city-level manufacturing legacy. The article affirms that distress has been highly persistent, but that some cities have achieved resurgence through a combination of strong leadership, collaboration across sectors and institutions, clear and broad-based strategies, and significant infrastructure investments. Finally, the article explores measurement issues by comparing two methodologies used to identify poorly performing central cities: comparisons across a comprehensive national cross-section of cities and comparisons within smaller samples of similar cities. It finds that these approaches have produced similar assessments of a city's status, except in some cases where the city's progress has been uneven across time or with respect to alternative criteria. JEL classifications: R11, R12, R23, R58, O15

Ethnography, Neighborhood Effects, and the Rising Heterogeneity of Poor Neighborhoods across Cities

“…One factor is differences in regional economic profiles and histories, as the legacy of manufacturing-centric economies has been shown to have slowed regional development in parts of the Northeast and Midwest, whereas many metropolitan areas on the coasts and those containing large universities are considered to be growing thanks to emerging technological industries (Kodrzycki and Munoz 2015;Manyika et al 2015;Moretti 2012). One factor is differences in regional economic profiles and histories, as the legacy of manufacturing-centric economies has been shown to have slowed regional development in parts of the Northeast and Midwest, whereas many metropolitan areas on the coasts and those containing large universities are considered to be growing thanks to emerging technological industries (Kodrzycki and Munoz 2015;Manyika et al 2015;Moretti 2012).…”

“…2 Researchers have traced this divergence across cities to multiple factors. One factor is differences in regional economic profiles and histories, as the legacy of manufacturing-centric economies has been shown to have slowed regional development in parts of the Northeast and Midwest, whereas many metropolitan areas on the coasts and those containing large universities are considered to be growing thanks to emerging technological industries (Kodrzycki and Munoz 2015;Manyika et al 2015;Moretti 2012). A second factor is differential immigration.…”

Managing Regional Impacts of Trade Liberalization: Informal Practices and Collaborative Economic Development on the U.S.–Mexico Border

“…Further research, however, is necessary to better understand the dynamics and range of repertoires' influence. For example, if the key contextual factor in these cases was the relatively growthenhancing opportunity of a new trade agreement, then it might be beneficial to consider the relevance of repertoires in regions whose immediate relationship to trade liberalization may be more one of a direct threat (Kodrzycki & Muñoz, 2015;Safford, 2009;Wolman, Stokan, & Wial, 2015). Moreover, even qualifying as a winner in modern trade liberalization offers limited benefits, as persistent poverty in McAllen and the dangers of violence in Reynosa will attest (Cohen, 2013;Grayson, 2009).…”