Newsweek recently released a top ten list of America's dying cities including Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Newsweek, of course, can go fuck itself in a cold dark alley.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, frequently rated one of the most livable cities IN THE WORLD was also on Newsweek's top ten dyingest cities in America.
Again with the Newsweek fucking itself in the cramped back of an '87 Yugo northbound on the Mackinac bridge on windy day.
I'm not entirely sure what these top ten lists of Worst Of cities accomplishes other than pointless assholery so other places can feel smug in their superiority...but more often than not they're "point and laugh at the 'rustbelt cities'" fests.
"Great Lakes" or "rust belt" cities listed in the Newsweek's 10 most dying cities:
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Flint, Michigan
South Bend, Indiana
Detroit, Michigan
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Cleveland, Ohio
Rochester, New York
Token non-great-lakes cities.
Hialeah, Florida
Vallejo, California
New Orleans, Louisiana
Back in 1987 Money Magazine rated the top ten worst cities to live in in America, with Flint, Michigan topping the list and Muskegon, Michigan coming in at number 2.
Forbes gets in on the actionrating Chigaco...CHICAGO one of the most miserable cities in America...and of course goes after:
Cleveland, OH
Detroit, MI
Flint, MI
Buffalo, NY
Canton, OH
Chicago, IL
Akron, OH
Rockford, IL
Toledo, OH
New York, NY
Yougstown, OH
Gary, IN
These top ten lists are generated from some smarmy writer in some high rise somewhere warm and prosperous looking at numbers at writing off an entire community as dying, as miserable, as a horrible place to exist without knowing a damn thing about them...it's just disaster porn so people somewhere else can feel all awesome about how freakin' wonderful they and their way of life are.
Yeah, you know, when I go shopping on a winter day I drive through slush and can smell the CWC Textron foundry which produces cam shafts for Toyota, Ford, and Honda so cocky people on the coasts can feel all smug as they drive their wonderful new cars and read Newsweek about how cities like Grand Rapids are dying. In fact, I've lived a good third of my life within eyeshot of that foundry, and you know what? I LIKED my life just fine. I LIKED my community just fine. I liked my friends just fine. And when they scaled back the foundry, I liked my friends and community...
Grand Rapids, just 25 minutes to the East of Muskegon, is a fine community. Grand Rapids is a strong community. Grad Rapids like every other city in the Great Lakes states has been re-inventing itself, reforming itself, rebuilding itself, re-imagining itself probably more than most American cities have. Grand RApids and most of the Midwest is probably further along the re-invention curve than most of America is...
...I've had it up to my armpits in people telling me for the past decade that these regions need to re-invent themselves for the past 20 years. And to the jackasses around America who have told the rustbelt states that line for so long who are currently seeing hard times...you know...quit whining and just reinvent yourselves. It's so freakin' easy.
Grand Rapids isn't a dying city. Hell, even Detroit or Flint isn't dying city. They're cities reinventing themselves, adapting to a new reality.
Take a good look, America. Cuz where Flint and Detroit and Grand Rapids are now...
...You'll be here soon enough. And it's going to suck. And I'm really, truly sorry about that.