Another Article on "Right-Sizing" Old Industrial Cities

This time the London Telegraph reports on efforts of cities like Flint Michigan to raze older neighborhoods rather than try to revive them.

The radical experiment is the brainchild of Dan Kildee, treasurer of Genesee County, which includes Flint.

Having outlined his strategy to Barack Obama during the election campaign, Mr Kildee has now been approached by the US government and a group of charities who want him to apply what he has learnt to the rest of the country.

Mr Kildee said he will concentrate on 50 cities, identified in a recent study by the Brookings Institution, an influential Washington think-tank, as potentially needing to shrink substantially to cope with their declining fortunes.

It does make one think that, from an historical perspective, beyond a few major centers, industrialization didn't work as a growth strategy.  Throughout the Northeast and Midwest, nonmetropolitan US is littered with small cities that are empty industrial hulks, filled with extensive decay and few prospects. 

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