Back when the Census Bureau told Cincinnati that it was losing population faster than Baghdad, our leading local newspaper (surprisingly celebrated in last night's premiere of The Rich List) chronicled the reasons why every sensible person is moving as quickly as possible to a McMansion in West Chester.
Now that the Census Bureau is telling Cincinnati that it has actually gained a tiny sliver of population, our leading local paper is telling us that upscale residents are gentrifying some of the city's oldest and poorest neighborhoods.
We observe first that a journalist, armed with an interpretation of reality, can find seemingly limitless anecdotes to illustrate and demonstrate that interpretation. Good journalists can do personal interest stories on conflicting interpretations simultaneously, or nearly so, as the Enquirer illustrates.
We observe second the demographic trend under-reported in either Enquirer story: people without children are moving urban; people with children are moving suburban. This trend is very pronounced in the densest and most expensive cities and will likely manifest itself in medium size metros like Cincinnati. It will affect schools, businesses, politics and churches.
No comments:
Post a Comment