I wasn't surprised to see some pushback on this post, and I think there is plenty of room for argument on the impact of the Klan killings on Greensboro.

I posted it less to endorse the idea (although I think our political leadership has been a factor in our relative decline, along with the reflexive negativity I've long called "Greensboro Disease") than to demonstrate that people are talking and thinking about the TRC report.

What really surprised me were comments questioning whether or not Greensboro really has declined in stature relative to other cities in this state. This seems pretty clear to me, in terms both qualitative and quantifiable.

The reasons for this relative decline in stature (as measured by population, income, reputation, vibrancy) include globalization of industry, concentration of financial services, the success of RTP and university-driven economies. Greensboro is better off than a lot of manufacturing cities across the country -- our numbers look good on a national scale, just not compared to our regional peers.

I'm a Greensboro booster and an optimist, and I see some benefits to avoiding the hypergrowth of Charlotte and the Triangle, but I'd love to see evidence that Greensboro has not slipped in relative terms in the last generation.

Comments

[David Boyd]

From your 'quantifiable' link Exhibit 2.7, Greensboro (19.2%) is 19th out of 49 nationally in terms of percentage growth between 1990 and 2000. Charlotte (29.0%) is 10th. Raleigh (38.9%) is tied for 4th.

In relative terms, you're right that Greensboro has declined in size (and importance in many ways) vs. Raleigh and Charlotte. Yet it seems to have held its own nationally and vs. other NC cities.

So the question really is, hypergrowth or not because all NC cities (and most cities in the US) have declined in terms of size and importance to Raleigh and Charlotte. Attributing Greensboro's 'decline' to the shootings or to 'Greensboro disease' seems a bit silly because all these other cities caught in Raleigh's and Charlotte's wake are in the same position.

Also, regarding your friend's hypothesis. Greensboro grew from 144,000 to 155,000 between 1970 and 1980 and grew from 155,000 and 183,000 between 1980 and 1990. Charlotte went from 241 to 315 between 70 and 80 and from 315 to 395 between 80 and 90. Seems the 'decline' started prior to the shootings.

[Ed Cone]

Right, we've declined as compared to our peers -- the leading cities in the state.

Winston-Salem, which was about the same size as Greensboro, has suffered even more by comparison. We got the airport, that helped us vs W-S.

If you look at NC's three big metro areas, the Triad has clearly lost ground to Charlotte/Meck. and the Triangle.