Disappearing Cities
A recent editorial discussed, “Our Disappearing Cities.” Talking about the migration of urban dwellers to the suburbs, or even beyond the suburbs to a region known as the “exurbs”. The editor – inadvertently I believe – called the mass exodus of urban dwellers to the suburbs… a people fleeing.
Fleeing, what a fitting judgment. My friends and neighbors often express the same sentiment, “I love my house,” they say, but then add, “I wish I could pick it up and move it”. Let me put it another way; the only people that live in the inner city are people who can’t afford to get out. People do not purchase the best home their money can buy, they buy into the best neighborhood they can afford. Until we can turn that reality around people will continue to flee.
Luckily, at this point, Toledo has many outstanding neighborhoods, with homes realistically priced for those with good paying jobs. However, inner city blight will continue to grow, and grow rapidly. As our aging citizenry retire to greener pastures, their homes often become investment property, (read rental property). Watch as those neighborhoods take a nose-dive As people flee, the cancer spreads.
Soon enough Toledo will be a mini Detroit; a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. But here we go again, like people lost in the wilderness, walking around in circles; still looking for political solutions for spiritual problems. Today it’s the Marina District and new sports arena promising a better tomorrow; but when tomorrow comes we’ll have our eye on some other magic program, or brilliant policy. Searching for some political messiah with Shakespearian eloquence; promising nirvana, delivering squat.
We will save this city, one child, one family, one soul at a time.