Hartford, Connecticut: What Happened?

[Matty]

After the Civil War, Hartford was the wealthiest city in America. Mark Twain in 1868 wrote of Hartford "Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see this is the chief."

The Hartford population increased with every census from 1790-1950. Things were going great for Hartford. It was a wealthy, growing city. "At Christmas, they used to be like ants, people crawling all over the place, like Fifth Avenue. Everyone was happy," said Juan Roman, who moved to Hartford in 1952.

After 1950, everything changed. Over that time period, higher taxation drove the affluent residents to the suburbs. Hartford has lost 40% of its population since 1950. White flight accelerated as Hartford went from 92% white in 1950 to 29% white in 2010. Soon the schools began to decline and Hartford became poorer and poorer.

What once was America's richest city is now the 2nd-poorest, behind only Brownsville, TX.

[H. Ross Peron]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight

Nor is this a phenomenon limited to liberal cities-the case has been the same with Southern city cores such as Atlanta or Jackson.

[Napoleon]

Lol. No. Some sketchy spots, sure, but Brooklyn has worse areas about equally near to me than in Hartford.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight

Nor is this a phenomenon limited to liberal cities-the case has been the same with Southern city cores such as Atlanta or Jackson.

white flight is at least as much a result as a cause of the decline.

It was a manufacturing center in midcentury and so suffered a decline similar to other Northeastern manufacturing cities. Add to that a few decades of generally unattractive tax and business climate at the state level.

[Deus Naturae]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight

Nor is this a phenomenon limited to liberal cities-the case has been the same with Southern city cores such as Atlanta or Jackson.

Atlanta and Jackson aren't liberal?

[H. Ross Peron]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight

Nor is this a phenomenon limited to liberal cities-the case has been the same with Southern city cores such as Atlanta or Jackson.

Atlanta and Jackson aren't liberal?

I mean they weren't liberal in the 1950s-they are now obviously due to black majorities.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Taxes are high all across Connecticut, not just in the cities.

Hartford's problems are very complex, but I concur that it was a cultural fear of African Americans that did in Hartford, along with the spike in crime that occurred as the city's ethnic mix began to change. Hartford had big problems with blockbusting and racial steering in the 1960s. If you look at census numbers, there are a lot of Connecticut towns that are very, very white -- and have put in a lot of effort to stay that way.

The NYT is actually running an article today that illustrates Connecticut's problems with race. It's about how one CT town built a wall just to keep black people from entering the town.

[dead0man]

wow, in 2014.....stay classy Hamden/New Haven!

[Napoleon]

Taxes are high all across Connecticut, not just in the cities.

Hartford's problems are very complex, but I concur that it was a cultural fear of African Americans that did in Hartford, along with the spike in crime that occurred as the city's ethnic mix began to change. Hartford had big problems with blockbusting and racial steering in the 1960s. If you look at census numbers, there are a lot of Connecticut towns that are very, very white -- and have put in a lot of effort to stay that way.

The NYT is actually running an article today that illustrates Connecticut's problems with race. It's about how one CT town built a wall just to keep black people from entering the town.

CT's race problems are well documented, I believe the state is still dead last for school integration. I also wouldn't be surprised if CT's average annual cost for private schools was the highest in the nation.

But lets not make this a black thing, one of the best things about Hartford is the prevalence of fine puertorriquenas!

[memphis]

For purposes of city vs city comparisons, municipal boundaries are extremely misleading. With a few rockstar exceptions like New York and San Francisco, cities that are still stuck in official boundaries that are 100+ years old are going to look substantially poorer on paper than cities that have annexed newer neighborhoods. The entierty of Hartford County is not, by any reasonable standard, a poor place.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight

Nor is this a phenomenon limited to liberal cities-the case has been the same with Southern city cores such as Atlanta or Jackson.

Places like Oakland now have both (non Hispanic) white and black flight and the only reason their population is staying around even is because of Hispanics and Asians.

[The Free North]

Someone mentioned it earlier, but city boundaries play a big role. If you look just outside of the city, there are plenty of affluent suburbs including Bristol where ESPN has their headquarters. The city proper has turned to sh**t, but that problem is everywhere in america. Stats like this tend to be misleading.

[Sol]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight

Nor is this a phenomenon limited to liberal cities-the case has been the same with Southern city cores such as Atlanta or Jackson.

Places like Oakland now have both (non Hispanic) white and black flight and the only reason their population is staying around even is because of Hispanics and Asians.

Has Oakland experienced any gentrification?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight

Nor is this a phenomenon limited to liberal cities-the case has been the same with Southern city cores such as Atlanta or Jackson.

Places like Oakland now have both (non Hispanic) white and black flight and the only reason their population is staying around even is because of Hispanics and Asians.

Has Oakland experienced any gentrification?

Oakland has very different neighborhoods, and some are pretty wealthy. In the bay area, gentrification can happen almost anywhere because of the high housing costs.

[Non Swing Voter]

Someone mentioned it earlier, but city boundaries play a big role. If you look just outside of the city, there are plenty of affluent suburbs including Bristol where ESPN has their headquarters. The city proper has turned to sh**t, but that problem is everywhere in america. Stats like this tend to be misleading.

You consider Bristol affluent?