Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Great Reset Migration Winners

How did the recent financial crisis reshape America's talent economic geography? If a metro was a winner before and after the recession, then the beneficial migration isn't news. Forbes with a useful analysis of what has changed:

Migration patterns reversed during the recession in many parts of the country. [Click the image above to see a larger map.]

Pittsburgh and Phoenix are the archetypes of diverging changing fortunes. Phoenix is in decline. Pittsburgh is ascendant. The top-10 "comeback cities" are as follows:


  1. New Orleans
  2. Denver
  3. Pittsburgh
  4. Boston
  5. Philadelphia
  6. Washington, DC
  7. El Paso
  8. Minneapolis
  9. Milwaukee
  10. Arlington


If you are looking to catch the next wave of globalization in the United States, move to one of the above cities. The restructured global economy favors these places, while punishing others such as Phoenix. Pittsburgh in particular is heating up fast:


For owner Nick Danko, who grew up in Plum and attended University of Pittsburgh before transferring to USC, the move is bringing him home at an opportune time.  Danko has opened one studio and plans to locate a second office downtown as he begins attracting local work.

"I'm aware this is completely backwards," says Danko. "This city has always been home for me. I wanted to bring a sense of Hollywood and the production values and quality to the region. It's a crowded space in LA. Pittsburgh offers more opportunities."

"I've been closely following the region's explosion in entertainment," says Danko. "It seemed like a perfect time to become a part of that and bring our Hollywood experience to the area."

Emphasis added. This is another fine example of the restructuring going on in the urban hierarchy. Pittsburgh is a greenfield for film production. L.A. is the Rust Belt, the establishment brownfield. Welcome to the age of return migration, the revenge of the gamma cities.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

El Paso is chapeaer I believe that most would be hispanic. Maybe a large group of second generation hispanics tired of expensive California or other parts of Texas since El Paso has less crime than Dallas or Houston.