Socioeconomic Changes in Distressed Cities During the 1980sAbstractThe economic revival of many of the Nation's older cities during the 1980s caused some observers to wonder whether the urban crisis was over. Indeed, after predictions of their economic and fiscal demise, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and other large cities made dramatic recoveries during the last decade and provided a sense of optimism about the ability of older, declining cities to adapt to economic and fiscal hardships. Many older cities diversified their economies and rebuilt the downtown areas by attracting advanced service and knowledge-intensive industries (Stanback, 1991). In most instances the recovery came after substantial losses of manufacturing jobs during the 1970s. A study by The Urban Institute found that city officials became better financial managers during the 1980s, made tough decisions to balance their budgets in the face of Federal aid cutbacks (that is, they increased taxes and cut spending), and tried to finance their underfunded pension systems.Socioeconomic Changes in Distressed Cities During the 1980s (*.pdf, 68 KB)
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