Elastic Borders-Fort Wayne cooks its population numbers

Thomas L. Guthrie, Associate Professor of Economics Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne writes

Over the longer run, the capacity of the Fort Wayne area to grow employment is likely about half that of the nation. This is based on the area’s relative dominance in the slow growth manufacturing sector (4) and its relatively low population growth.

Read the rest in Indiana Business Review.

The urban flight to the suburbs impacts the city's growth. Cities seek ways to grow their urban core. Immigration is one way to do so. An influx of a migrating foreign population masks a poor job market. Overpriced housing are contracted or rented to the new immigrants to hide the out migration abandonment of such housing.

The Journal Gazette reports

Many demographers associate shrinking populations with economic problems, typically poor job markets or prohibitive housing prices.

But it depends on how you work the numbers, according to Fort Wayne. Com.

But the growth and spread of Indiana’s cities cannot be denied, and the continuing population shift raises significant challenges, as well as opportunities:

Nope, not unless you have other folks who can read census reports.

Indiana now has one fewer city in the 100,000+ category, as Gary dipped below that mark with an estimated population of 99,516.

None of Indiana’s four remaining cities with more than 100,000 people (Indianapolis, Evansville, South Bend and Fort Wayne) saw a population gain from 2003 to 2004.
Population has decreased over the four-and-one-quarter years since Census 2000 in three of those four cities. Indianapolis saw a gain of only 0.3 percent over this period, while Evansville, South Bend and Fort Wayne sustained losses of 3.6 percent, 2.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. (However, Fort Wayne would show a gain of 6.6 percent if growth due to boundary annexations was included.)

The abandoned areas turn to recruitment of employment by growing the population through consolidation. If their is a residency requirement that prohibit those who live outside the city boundary.

Fort Wayne is betting on a Baseball Park to further grow its population. The Harrison Square Park is deemed a catalyst for bringing non immigrants to live, work, and play in the urban core.

More from the report

Between 2000 and 2004, the unincorporated areas of our counties gained more people (111,000) than our cities and towns (43,000). People are making a distinct choice, a choice that allows them to be in close proximity to cities and towns in their counties, but not living within the city or town limits

How do you think the City of Fort Wayne was able to amass so much downtown land to sell to developers? But little funds are placed toward improving the urban schools, public schools.