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Half of America’s Cities Are Depopulating. We Could Be Headed for a Ghost Town Era. (www.popularmechanics.com)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/science@lemmy.world
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Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:

  • By studying population trends and forecasting models, researchers have come to believe that nearly 15,000 U.S. cities will face noticeable depopulation by 2100.
  • Populated areas of the cities in question could experience a decline of up to 44 percent.
  • Projections call for the biggest drops in city populations to occur in the Northeast and Midwest.
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[–] 2 points 4 months ago (9 children)

I live in a city and it sucks and I cannot wait to get back to the burbs. I don't live in downtown, so it is not walkable, despite it being a dense area. So I pay more, own less, and do less than if I was back in the burbs. I have no idea why anyone over the age of 25 wants to live in a city. I cannot fathom being an elderly person living in a city. How do you put up with that? I absolutely cannot stand it. I'm glad I tried it, because now I know for sure how much I despise it. I'm not even 30 yet.

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  • [–] 10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

    The problem with cities is exactly the reason I'd want to move there: cars. I don't want to be tied to cars, car payments, car traffic, car repairs. The only way to get out of that is to move to the city, where I can walk, ride, or take public transit.

    Problem: I'm always constantly less than 5 feet away from a fucking road and fucking cars in a city, I hear them when I'm awake and when I'm asleep--there is no escaping cars in a city.

    Reality: I'd rather be in a car than next to one if those are my only two options.

    We need to get cars the fuck out of cities and give people real choices.

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  • [–] 8 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    Your usage of city and their usage of city differs.

    They are talking about cities like Cameron with a declining population not even hitting 1,000.

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  • [–] 7 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    That’s a very unconventional use of the word “city”.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    Yeah, I don't know what defines a city. I'm guessing each state has it's own definition based on population.

    I'd personally call less than 1,000 a village.

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  • [–] 5 points 4 months ago

    I live on the edge of urban/suburban in a small city and absolutely love it. 10 minutes to bike into downtown, tons and tons of businesses and job opportunities, and just a much better community atmosphere. Anytime I go into more suburban/exurban areas, it's downright depressing at this point knowing that it takes 5 minutes in a car to get to literally anything that's not another identical house.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago

    Older people who have mobility issues sometimes prefer cities because markets, banks, care providers, other services can be close to home, it easily within ~5 minutes walking/golf cart distance.

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