esrosedotblog

LOST CITIES

I have been in every one of these cities and I could have told you they were lost over a decade ago.

Ten Local American Economies That Have Changed Forever

Many of them are lost because they lost their one central industry like steel (Allentown, PA) or cars (Flint MI).

Others were lost before they were lost. Atlantic City died with the end of that kind of resort business. Planes, cars, other more interesting places became available to visit.

It is sad but inevitable. The unforeseen circumstance of civic pride in one thing. One industry.

Then there is New Orleans LA which was lost before it was started. Lost through nature and the unwillingness of man to see that there are some places you just should not build a city.

Some of these cities didn't take care of themselves. Cleveland OH had its great Great Lake catch on fire.

I could smell defeat in every one of these.

How come a visitor could see it and they could not? Or, perhaps they did and couldn't find anything to do about it.

I have a sense that my own city, Palm Springs, is dying in this way.

It has sold out to the developers and now has instant slums on its outskirts.

The only thing that will save it is the inhospitable climate which will keep the slums from breeding more homeless people than there are already. Squatters.

We have had one industry. Tourism. And one goal, real estate development. Both suffering.

And yet, saddled with entitlement costs, we struggle along doing the same thing and expecting different results.

I do not suffer from this but, in the future, it is hard to see much changing for the better.

Golf courses will not do it.

A little bit of pessimism in the mix today.

Labels: America