The Urban Turnaround

Analysis of newly released 2000 census data by Fannie Mae Foundation urban and demographic researchers shows that many older industrial cities have rebounded considerably from the traumatic population losses of the 1970s. Looking at 36 cities, the analysis shows that the 1990s was the best postwar decade for those cities as a group. A summary index that assigns a grade to each decade based on numeric population change gives the 1990s a "B." By contrast, the 1950s and 1980s received a C+, the 1960s a C, and the 1970s an F. A grading system based on percent population change yields similar results.

Thanks to Carol Bell