The tide is turning from the last half century, with population trends heading inward and urban from the sundered seas of suburbia.
"The downward [resident population] forces held the upper hand from 1950 to 2000 - the suburban half-century. It wasn't until very near the new millennium that the fortunes of older cities like Philadelphia began to turn. Crime was dropping, and the Brookings Institution came out with a report in 1999 that predicted that the number of downtown residents would increase by 2010 in Philadelphia and major cities throughout the US - although cities as a whole were predicted to continue to lose population.
'As the Philadelphia numbers show, Brookings may have underestimated the urban comeback. Nor was Philadelphia unique. Boston, which made four Census Bureau challenges since 2006, has seen its official population rise to 620,535 from 559,034, according to a report in the Philadelphia Daily News. In the midst of the worst economy since the 1930s, Washington, DC, added nearly 10,000 residents from 2008 to 2009, according to the Census Bureau. The city has gained about 28,000 people since 2000. New York City, Alexandria, Baltimore, Milwaukee, and many other cities have challenged population estimates and found unexpected new residents."
Thanks to Renee Brutvan
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