Urban Maturation Theory

[Marley23]

Hi Ed,
Home repair stuff is pretty much beyond me*, but I wanted to know more about your ideas regarding cities maturing and developing, and how you came to those conclusions. Was it just a spending a long time in one city?

I'm too young to have seen the changes that New York City has been through in the last 20 or 30 years, but I've read enough to know what a hole it was in the days of "Ford to City: Drop Dead" and the crack explosion. I'm now a beneficiary of those changes; arguably I'd be called a yuppie or hipster if I had money or taste in clothes, but regardless I live in a gentrifying area and I see how previously undesirable areas in Manhattan and in Queens and Brooklyn are becoming trendy. This forced me to conclude that gentrification is part of the natural evolution of a city and that it's not a bad thing in itself, and I was glad to see you shared this conclusion. I also think your description of the characteristics that make an area desirable - attractiveness to creative types, 'urban-ness' and so on - are accurate.

I spent my college years in and around Chicago, so I noticed some of the changes going on but wasn't aware of their extent. I'm seeing it more firsthand here.

*This post reminds me that I should probably put the batteries back in my smoke detector, which I removed after almost setting my oven on fire. And I guess I'll have to start thinking about finding my screwdriver so I can remove my air conditioner again when the weather gets cold. I'm not handy.

[Ed Zotti]

Originally Posted by Marley23

I wanted to know more about your ideas regarding cities maturing and developing, and how you came to those conclusions. Was it just a spending a long time in one city?

I'm too young to have seen the changes that New York City has been through in the last 20 or 30 years, but I've read enough to know what a hole it was in the days of "Ford to City: Drop Dead" and the crack explosion. I'm now a beneficiary of those changes; arguably I'd be called a yuppie or hipster if I had money or taste in clothes, but regardless I live in a gentrifying area and I see how previously undesirable areas in Manhattan and in Queens and Brooklyn are becoming trendy. This forced me to conclude that gentrification is part of the natural evolution of a city and that it's not a bad thing in itself, and I was glad to see you shared this conclusion. I also think your description of the characteristics that make an area desirable - attractiveness to creative types, 'urban-ness' and so on - are accurate.

I spent my college years in and around Chicago, so I noticed some of the changes going on but wasn't aware of their extent. I'm seeing it more firsthand here.

It was just a matter of observation. Chicago was a good place to watch the maturation process in action because it was so sudden - things had been drifting up for a while, then between around 1995 and 1999 they just spiked up. The same thing happened in Brooklyn and other places at different times; I think the difference in NYC was that even during the darkest days of the 1970s Manhattan was still a vibrant place, however scuzzy - I'd argue that Manhattan had matured as an urban place before World War I. Chicago didn't have the same spark - it had some reviving neighborhoods but people were none too confident. The Tribune in 1982 ran a series called "City on the Brink" that captured the mood pretty well. I lived in Chicago and not NY, and New Yorkers may have a different take on things; all I'm saying is that at a certain point some cities develop a well-defined sense of themselves, and after that everything is different - they've matured. That's not to say they don't have their economic ups and down from there on out, but they retain a basic self-confidence that sustains them in difficult times. You see this in Chicago now. And yes, I think it's a natural though not inevitable step in the urbanization process.

[Marley23]

I agree that New York has a very strong sense of itself, and that goes back way before the renewals of recent years. And New Yorkers are famous for being fatalistic, so you're probably on target about the self confidence. My take on Chicago was that it was a city with a lot of great qualities that needed some more self-esteem.

[Lavender Falcon]

I think some of the trend is that people were fleeing to the exurbs because houses were cheaper there and they thought that having a new house would mean fewer problems with the house itself. I know the people who I bought from were looking to ditch all the repairs that needed to be made--the wife specifically said she was looking forward to a new house with nothing broken.

Except the reason this place needs fixing up is that the sellers did a poor job of maintaining things. Well, even new houses require maintenance and repair. It wasn't just maintenance, either--they left a lot of filth and trash behind, in spite of what they'd cleaned up before going on the market. Their bad habits went to the exurbs with them, so I don't doubt that their new house has problems, eight years later. A lot of those places were built quick and cheap, too.

The need for repairs and cleaning is what made this house affordable to me. I can't do the work myself, but I'm gradually hiring people to do it, and I feel a sense of pride in making things better. I think some people like to use places up, and others like to fix them up, so I think there will always be cycles.

Add to this that the jobs didn't move to the exurbs, even if the people did. Those long commutes get old, and with gas prices the way they are, they're getting more expensive. Plus, if you live where winter rules for much of the year, that long drive can be a bear for a good chunk of the year.

The exurbs aren't all they were cracked up to be.

Congratulations on the book, Ed! Sounds interesting.

[Ed Zotti]

Originally Posted by Lavender Falcon

I think some people like to use places up, and others like to fix them up, so I think there will always be cycles.

Spoken like a member of the brotherhood.