RURAL REBOUND

Have cities reached their peak?

- MIKE WALDEN

I grew up in a rural region outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the 1950s and early ’60s. Our home was around the corner from my paternal grandfather’s farm. I enjoyed the open spaces and clean air. Traffic was minimal, so I could ride my bike everywhere. However, there were some changes. Whereas my father walked to school, I took a bus.

It was a major occasion for my parents to take me to downtown Cincinnati for shopping, a movie or a Cincinnati Reds game at old Crosley Field. It was probably then that I first became interested in cities. Downtown Cincinnati offered excitement, easy access to stores, restaurants and entertainment, and the wonder of seeing massive skyscrapers like the 49-story Carew Tower, still standing today as the second-tallest building in the city.

It was natural that I carried this urban fascination to college. My initial intent was to become an architect and design big city buildings. A lack of design creativity pushed me to city planning, where I thought I could help manage cities. Then I discovered economics and its power for understanding behavior. My Ph.D. dissertation focused on why some neighborhoods in Cincinnati that had fallen into decline were being revived by new investments and new residents.

FROM FARMS TO FACTORIES

When I came to North Carolina in the 1970s, most people lived in rural regions. It wasn’t until 1990 that North Carolina officially became an urban state, with most people living in cities and their adjacent suburbs. Today, two-thirds live in urban areas.