3 ms·

> There is no reason there can't be more Portlands or Minneapolises in the Midwest, for example. In theory, sure. But in practice, there are a lot of reasons w

> There is no reason there can't be more Portlands or Minneapolises in the Midwest, for example. In theory, sure. But in practice, there are a lot of reasons why there aren't (or won't) be more of those types of places. The Midwest is strongly anti-city. In terms of culture, lifestyle, economics, politics, etc. Even self-described "urbanists" in the midwest are typically strongly anti-city (their goal is usually to reproduce the problems of existing cities, not to attempt any solutions). It's not like there is a shortage of small cities in the Midwest. There's a reason no one is excited to move to Toledo, or Lansing, or South Bend.

mc32 10y ago
>There's a reason no one is excited to move to Toledo, or Lansing, or South Bend I think if we look at what made these cities we can understand their current standing --but with effort they can change. Portland was not always Portland; Austin wasn't always Austin. People need to invest and put in effort to drive these places to where they want them. They sure don't have to be replicas of NYC or LA, or SF. They can bring to them what they find valuable while at the same time changing with the times to accommodate and attract or keep their youth as they move into the workforce from Uni. They can transform these small-to-mid-sized cities into attractive cities with (youthful) Midwestern values.