Top ten list of U.S. cities that are in a free fall.
10. MSA: Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA
Net Population Change, 2006-2009: -0.20%
Per Capita Gross Domestic Product: $42,696.66
Change in New Building Permits, February 2007-February 2010: -83.18%
Change in Unemployment, January 2007-January 2010: 122.95%
Change in New Jobs Added, February 2007 - February 2010: -9.37%
Change in Median Home Price from Market Peak: -17%
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21 comments:
Shamrock my friend, there has got to be a way for this region, this City, to get itself righted and going in a productive and renewed direction. I refuse to believe that it cannot be done. There are far too many good people in Fall River to let it fall off the face of the earth.
Maybe the bloggers have to move together in the same direction to put a spur in the backsides of the people and the powers that be to get something, anything done, even if it's onkly one building , one business, one school at a time. Basketball team? How about schools that work first!
How about dismantling the FROED /Redevelopment authority for starters.
It was Providence that was in the Top 10. The article around the top ten list very clearly discusses Providence. Providence is considered a part of the Providence/Fall River/Warwick Metro Area.
did it say fall river??? then they included fall river in the top ten.
what is your point?
No the written description only mentioned Providence. Fall River is not mentioned as being included in the top ten otherwise the list would come out to be more than 10. The Providence metro area happens to include Fall River but if you could actually ready you can see they are talking about Providence. What is the point? You're an idiot that can't read. That's the point.
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/us-cities-in-free-fall
A Trouble Spot in the Northeast
Picturesque Providence, R.I., is the only New England metro on our list. Economically, it's struggling far more than other cities in the region. Although Providence saw a slower three-year increase in unemployment than some other major metros, it still has a high unemployment rate, at 14%. The city also added 9% fewer jobs in 2010 than three years earlier. Workers are getting the message and leaving town. Providence is the only city in our top 10 to see a net loss in population.
Maybe anon 21:28 shoulc have read the words:
"Economic indicators in these METROS have gone from bad to worse, with no sign of recoverywords "
if FALL RIVER is in the PROVIDENCE METRO AREA thats the point.
No need to call people idiots for asking a question. Maybe your comment should have been clearer and less sarcastic.
Here you see some eveidence on this issue of the old ethos...we are fall River, we are omnipotent, we exist alone and are not part of the world except ourselves...we are obviously paradise!
That's why we have the 3rd highest rate of unemployment in MA and half os all adults in Faw Rivah have never garduated high school...please people, we are PART od the Providence-Newbedford-Faw Rivah MSA...it bespeaks of Providencs but covers the entire region. We are not doing well...spectacularly so....we in Fall River no longer have even a thriving mall, let alone a Central Business District with meaningful consumer businesses - I don;t count newsstands, dunkin donuts, copy shope, and pawn shops as VIBRANT COMMERCIALISM....there is a wide and wonjderful world out there, get out of your cocoons of nostalgia, and rebuild this city!
And maybe I'll learn how to type one day!
We all know things are horrible in Fall River but the write up is clear that they were talking about and focusing on Providence and not Fall River. Things are bad enough here and we get enough bad publicity as it is, let's not try to lump ourselves into the conversation when they are talking about how bad things are in Providence.
1) The data is drawn from the whole MSA (incorporating Fall River, Providence, New Bedford, and surrounding towns.)
2) Forbes uses Providence as shorthand to represent the MSA because not many Forbes readers have ever heard of Fall River and New Bedford.
Exactly the point here. Who has heard of FR or NB? Send your money to haiti, send your money to Madeira... Let RI and Southern Ma. rot.
I didn't mean it as a dis to FR or NB. It's just that the Forbes readership is national, and PVD has a national profile that the other two cities don't have. That's for a lot of reasons: people use the airport, pass through the colleges (either as students or parents of students), and then fan out across the country. It also shows up on TV now and then, and it's well known for its cultural institutions, restaurants, NCAA, etc.
It wasn't always so. Back in the 80s, the Wall Street Journal famously called PVD something like "a grease spot on the way to the Cape." The city has really grown in the last 20 or 25 years (but in terms of the things referenced above ... as the list points out, the underlying economy's still in trouble, as the successor to the manufacturing sector remains to be identified.)
FR actually could develop more of a profile with some coordinated effort. It's in a great location, easily reached from Boston and New York, with great highway access (if you fixed those crazy blind merges and opened up some more lanes on the bridge and got some signage) and a pretty vibrant arts community (the Narrows, individual artists, etc) that could be marketed well. And historic architecture to die for. Long-term, you'd need to fix public safety to get people from outside the city to feel comfortable visiting, and you'd need to fix education (and build back the economy) to get people to move there. But short-term, there are things that could be done.
FR can't be fixed tomorrow. But it can be fixed. Things like the Forbes list should be viewed as a challenge not a death knell.
What do you think results in Providence being in the bottom 10? Fall River and New Bedford unemployment rates are worse than Providence. Not sure, but I think foreclosures in FR are higher too. Furthermore, Providence has Brown, RISD, PC, J&W, RIC, etc. in addition to better shopping, a real downtown and commercial sector, restaurants, theatre, cultural and civic activities, etc. that help provide jobs and an influx of educated people that bring about socio-economic diversity. What has FR got? Bet Providence wishes FR was NOT in its MSA!
Want to improve Fall River? First step: outlaw, or at least discourage, use of vinyl siding -- seriously! Call me a snob, but it says a lot about the social class of a community, and it's ugly as $hit!
The once glorious architectural landscape of Fall River is nearly extinct. Residents have no regard for preserving architectural integrity. I blame ignorance, bad taste, Home Depot and all those DIY shows that encourage amateurs to desecrate, I mean decorate, their homes.
And while you're getting rid of the vinyl, require that all new construction use natural products, and include a requirement for a certain number of trees and other amount of vegetation per square foot of construction. I love seeing those "developments" with a sea of asphalt and vinyl-clad box after vinyl-clad box in various shades of puke, with fiberglass etched-glass doors, chain link fences, red mulch (real natural) and the virgin on the half shell. Yep, that's sure aesthetically pleasing.
Take it a step further, and outlaw vertical blinds and big screen TVs. The people who have those tend to like the developments described above.
Sorry -- but the truth hurts. Observe (I know some FRites are capable of this) desirable communities and just copy some of the elements that make them desirable. Observe the life decisions successful people make too, and just copy it. It's really not that hard.
The problem with FR is that everyone IS copying, but the wrong things -- knocking up your girlfriend and having a kid you can't afford, focusing on sports instead of academics, settling for mediocrity, wearing failure as a badge of honor, mocking anything that hints of success or enlightenment. Stop blaming others for your failures and look within yourselves! GEEZ!
Anon 11:18:
Providence has its struggles as well, and RI has lost population in recent years. There HAVE actually been a lot of foreclosures ... there are neighborhoods that are not doing well at all. And they're also struggling with the need to replace the old manufacturing base and transition to a 21st century economy.
The difference is that, as you point out, PVD has the cultural and educational base to attract people with energy, new ideas, and disposable income. (There's actually a lot going on with young people who have discovered the city and are working in technology and the arts.) Another key difference is that PVD respects its history and has preserved a lot of the beautiful old architecture that creates a sense of place.
What Fall River needs to remember is that, in an age of e-commerce, wealth can be created anywhere. The next generation of entrepreneurs plants its roots based on quality of life. If FR takes care of what's left of its heritage landmarks, nurtures its arts community, takes advantage of its location, and creates a safe enough environment, people will visit. Eventually some of them will re-locate. And you know what? Some of those people will help you fix the educational system ... which is a must.
I agree with the latter part of what (21 April, 2010 11:34) stated however, your silly comments regarding vinyl siding big screen Tvs and vertical blinds(which I do hate) are just that silly.
Stick to what's really going on in Fall River... terrible education system, with no support from the home base. Plain and simple. Not how to decorate your home. geez..
Sorry, but I'll stand by my comments about vinyl siding and bad taste in home decorating. Unfortunately, they say a LOT more about a community than many would care to admit.
Just wondering if anyone has seen the TIGER grant application submitted by FROED for the courthouse garage.
Below is the list of 1456 grant applications and it's not listed??
http://www.dot.gov/recovery/ost/
A list of the 1,456 TIGER grant applicants, which also identifies the 166 projects that were advanced for further consideration and the 51 projects totaling $1.5 billion that were selected. Also included is a description of what they applied for, how much they requested, and, if selected, how much they were awarded. Tiger Grant Applications
Massachusetts pages 73-74-75:
http://www.dot.gov/recovery/docs/tigerapplist.pdf
look at this conflict with SRTA
State Contract/Payroll
http://www.bostonherald.com/projects/payroll/quasi_state/name.ASC/17/
Southeastern Regional Transit Authority
Arthur D. Frank Legal Counsel $36,000.00 Yes
Southeastern Regional Transit Authority
Hague & Sahady Auditor $26,500.00 Yes
MICHAEL HERREN HAS BEEN IN JAIL ALL WEEKEND FOR BEATING THE HELL OUT OF HIS 25 YEAR OLD GIRLFRIEND (WHO I BELIEVE IS BOB CORRIEA'S NIECE).
ARRAIGNMENT THIS MORNING
Herrens dumb gf is already back with him. Sure he is being nice so she dosent testify, hate to see what he will do to her when he's off the hook!
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