What Happened to the American Boomtown?

What Happened to the American Boomtown?

The places with the most opportunity(ˌäpərˈt(y)o͞onitē) used to attract(əˈtrakt) the most new residents(ˈrez(ə)dənt,ˈrezəˌdent), in a cycle of fast-growing cities and rising(ˈrīziNG) prosperity(präˈsperitē). But no more.

By Emily(īməlē) Badger(ˈbajər)

Chicago(-ˈkägō,SHiˈkôgō) in 1850 was a muddy(ˈmədē) frontier(ˌfrənˈti(ə)r) town of barely(ˈbe(ə)rlē) 30,000 people. Within two decades(ˈdekād), it was 10 times that size. Within another two decades, that number had tripled(ˈtripəl). By 1910, Chicago — hog(häg,hôg) butcher(ˈbo͝oCHər) for the world, headquarters(ˈhedˌkwôrtərz) of Montgomery(məntˈgəm(ə)rē) Ward(wôrd), the nerve(nərv) center of the nation’s rail(rāl) network — had more than two million residents.

“You see these numbers, and they just look fake(fāk),” said David Schleicher, a law professor(prəˈfesər) at Yale(yāl) who writes on urban(ˈərbən) development and land use. Chicago heading into the 20th century was the fastest-growing city America has ever seen. It was a classic(ˈklasik) metropolitan(ˌmetrəˈpälitn) magnet(ˈmagnət), attracting anyone in need of a job or a raise(rāz).

But while other cities have played this role through history — enabling people who were geographically(ˌjēəˈgrafikəl) mobile to become economically(ˌekəˈnämik(ə)lē,ˌēkə-) mobile, too — migration(mīˈgrāSHən) patterns like the one that fed Chicago have broken down in today’s America. Interstate mobility(mōˈbilətē) nationwide(ˈnāSHənˈwīd) has slowed over the last 30 years. But, more specifically(spəˈsifik) and of greater concern(kənˈsərn), migration has stalled(stôl) in the very places with the most opportunity.

As Mr. Schleicher puts it, local economic booms no longer create boomtowns in America.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/upshot/what-happened-to-the-american-boomtown.html