Thursday, March 10, 2011

The Evolution of City Cores

Well, this is interesting. And if you're Tommy Barrett, maybe even frightening.

The ongoing Census reveals the continuing evolution of America’s cities from small urban cores to dispersed, multi-polar regions that includes the city’s surrounding areas and suburbs.

...but the obsession with hipness often means missing a bigger story: the gradual diminution of the urban core as engines for job creation. For example, while Chicago’s Loop has doubled its population to 20,000, it has also experienced a large drop in private-sector employment, which now constitutes a considerably smaller share of regional employment than a decade ago. The same goes for the new urbanist mecca of Portland as well as the heavily hyped Los Angeles downtown area. --Kotkin quoted at Marketplace

You don't have to be a stat-geek to know that's exactly what's happening in downtown Milwaukee, too. Lotsa condos and apartments--attractive ones. Jobs?

USBank employment down compared to First Wisconsin of 1980, M&I to follow trend shortly. NML puts new workforces in Franklin. Commercial realtors reporting that "NOT IN MILWAUKEE COUNTY" instructions accompany 'industrial building wanted' listings.

Meantime, Germantown, Brookfield, and Pewaukee industrial/commercial properties fill up and expand.

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