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Getting Hartford to 140k people


MadVlad

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Looking at some of the prior census numbers, Hartford had approx 139k people in 1990. We now have approx 124k, a loss of 15k people. This raises a few questions with me.

First where did all the people leave from? Is it because they've effectively knocked down most of the tenements in places like Charter Oak, Stowe Village, and Dutch Point? I'd assume those would hold more people than the single houses that replace them. In 1990, I don't think many people lived downtown, so all the added people there would be a bonus, no?

Second, why did more people leave Hartford than somewhere like Waterbury, Bridgeport, or Springfield? All of these cities have worse reputations than Hartford, yet they retained more people than Hartford.

Third, what is the best way to raise population numbers? Build more housing downtown? More large apartment buildings around the city? Vastly improve the image (no brainer there)?

Fourth, what can we expect to achieve? If we lost 20k in 10 years (1990 - 2000), couldn't we possibly gain 20k more in ten years? That would give us 145k, not bad, definitely short of the 1950's heyday of 170k+, but whatever. I think it can be done, but I'm not sure what needs to be done for it to happen....

MadVlad:

What Hartford should do to increase population.

1) Lower taxes. Connecticut needs to do that, too. A city (or state) can't compete if the taxes are higher than another state. Fact of life, but both needs to be business friendly.

2) Create the image that Hartford's schools are top-rate. As much as Hartford schools are good, nooneknows that -- people do think -- since it is a URBAN district, that it is UNSAFE. It that, families would move to Hartford, especially the Southwest area and Blue Hills.

3) Create housing downtown -- high rise condos would be great, but also create some downtown condos for families -- especially with access to the river.

4) Police presence in the nieghborhood -- last I heard Hartford crime rate is falling, so it is a step in the right direction

5) Improve Hartford's parks -- some of the hidden gems in Connecticut.

and ...

6) Public transportation -- Rail service to Waterbury, Williamantic and Middletown. If Hartford's Union Station could be the hub of transit (right now, it is empty most of the day), but if stores (supermarkets and other stores (Target/Kohl's) ) were in the neighborhood, it would be a help. ( Is Adam's still in business?). We need public transit 24/7. It would be less cars if the citizens can use buses ANYTIME.

Annexation is not the issue. We just need to get people to invest in Connecticut. I moved because I got a better job. - I'd move back, but taxes aren't going to be lowered. Conecticut has a lot to offer, but look at the fastest growing states -- all are low tax states.

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That may change though. I'm still on the fence on whether that's a good idea or not. I'd love to see the type of development that they are proposing for where Brainard Airport is, but I'm really not sure that sacrificing the Airport is in Hartford's best interest....

MadVlad:

Brainard Airport being closed would be the worst thing for Hartford. Where would private planes owners go then?No, I don't own a plane however a friend is a pilot and he flys out of Simsbury and he hates that airport.

Does Hartford still own Brainard? It was - or is - the oldest airport owned by a city.

Jim S

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MadVlad:

Brainard Airport being closed would be the worst thing for Hartford. Where would private planes owners go then?No, I don't own a plane however a friend is a pilot and he flys out of Simsbury and he hates that airport.

Does Hartford still own Brainard? It was - or is - the oldest airport owned by a city.

Jim S

I'm not sure if the City still owns Brainard. Again, it's a tough call, that development is exactly what Hartford needs, but I'm still on the fence whether the Airport is too high a price to pay...

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it is... and if most of stamford wasn't very suburban in nature, it would have the potential to be a very large city. but like most of fairfield county, it suffers from sprawl.

I can see Stamford taking the top spot soon over Bridgeport. How many sq miles is Bridgeport and New Haven?

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I can see Stamford taking the top spot soon over Bridgeport. How many sq miles is Bridgeport and New Haven?

new haven is 18.9 and bridgeport is 16, both about the same size as hartford and providence. bridgeport is significantly more densely populated than new haven and stamford. stamford in a lot of the neighborhoods, like i said, is very fairfield county suburban. new haven also has the annex section (between the river and east haven, but south of rt 1) which is more like a suburban neighborhood and the westville section, which is also very suburban in nature (probably more so than the annex). new haven also has a lot of parks and greenspace. the more urban areas are quite dense and remind me of the similar areas of providence.

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MadVlad:

Brainard Airport being closed would be the worst thing for Hartford. Where would private planes owners go then?No, I don't own a plane however a friend is a pilot and he flys out of Simsbury and he hates that airport.

Does Hartford still own Brainard? It was - or is - the oldest airport owned by a city.

Jim S

I kinda disagree. I'm not a private plane operator either. But for all the land Brainard sits on... how many people actually arrive there each day? I'm honestly unfamiliar with the benefits a city airport provides, it might be worth it, but it's an awful lot of land, riverfront property as well, that's used by Brainard.

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I kinda disagree. I'm not a private plane operator either. But for all the land Brainard sits on... how many people actually arrive there each day? I'm honestly unfamiliar with the benefits a city airport provides, it might be worth it, but it's an awful lot of land, riverfront property as well, that's used by Brainard.

I'm on the fence as well. The development proposed for the property is just what we need, however, the airport is a fairly busy one. On average it has 329 operations DAILY, which when compared to Bradley's 387 makes you rethink building a huge complex over an asset like Brainard. It is definitely a plus for big business to see that Hartford has a general aviation airport less than 5 minutes from the DT business district, which is why there are 129 aircraft based at Brainard. To take that away would be shooting yourself in the foot. The only way I see it working out is if they build a new general aviation airport somewhere close....maybe south windsor. idk. it's a tough call either way

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I'm on the fence as well. The development proposed for the property is just what we need, however, the airport is a fairly busy one. On average it has 329 operations DAILY, which when compared to Bradley's 387 makes you rethink building a huge complex over an asset like Brainard. It is definitely a plus for big business to see that Hartford has a general aviation airport less than 5 minutes from the DT business district, which is why there are 129 aircraft based at Brainard. To take that away would be shooting yourself in the foot. The only way I see it working out is if they build a new general aviation airport somewhere close....maybe south windsor. idk. it's a tough call either way

Maybe it is an asset then. I probably will never use the place, and neither will most of the people of Hartford, but if it helps the city businesses, then maybe it is a good thing to have. Also, maybe we should first find a developer for Front Street, and especially all that land north of I-84 near Main Street in downtown. Until then, we shouldn't even think of developing land that already is being useful.

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new haven is 18.9 and bridgeport is 16, both about the same size as hartford and providence. bridgeport is significantly more densely populated than new haven and stamford. stamford in a lot of the neighborhoods, like i said, is very fairfield county suburban. new haven also has the annex section (between the river and east haven, but south of rt 1) which is more like a suburban neighborhood and the westville section, which is also very suburban in nature (probably more so than the annex). new haven also has a lot of parks and greenspace. the more urban areas are quite dense and remind me of the similar areas of providence.

Bridgeport is only 16 sq miles? I thought it was a little bit bigger than that?

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that's what i saw on wikipedia... but i also remember seeing a state map with all the towns marked out... and thinking "bridgeport's tiny"

Hartford and Providence are only 1 sq mile bigger than Bridgeport. I always knew New Haven had a couple of sq miles more than Hartford and Bridgeport.

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find a map, bridgeport is noticeably smaller than new haven and hartford. it's seriously dense though.

Bridgeport is indeed very dense for it's size. It amazes me that bridgeport hasn't had any serious population loss in the last in the 15 years.

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Seriously, we might pose the question: Why has Hartford lost 15k in the last 15 years but Bridgeport and Springfield, who have worse reputations than Hartford, only lost less than 5 k? One would imagine these cities would have lost more, but to the contrary, they've lost much less....

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Seriously, we might pose the question: Why has Hartford lost 15k in the last 15 years but Bridgeport and Springfield, who have worse reputations than Hartford, only lost less than 5 k? One would imagine these cities would have lost more, but to the contrary, they've lost much less....

which cities have a lower cost of living? that might be the answer. bridgeport, being so close to new york, has that advantage over hartford.

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Not sure what advantage that would be, the real estate in the towns around Bridgeport is much higher than Hartford.

but when you talk about city population, it's within the city limits. bridgeport might be cheaper than hartford. being so close to new york has the advantage of people who work in the city but want a cheap place to live, considering bridgeport is the cheapest of that area...

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Connecticut is not really growing population wise in general, Hartford will grow by luring people in from the neighboring suburbs. Fixing the school system will help, with great school systems in neighboring towns young families don't want to stay in Hartford. Building these new luxury apartments and condo will help as well, bringing in the need for more ameneties, which will serve not only those apartments but all of Hartford.

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I would've said that Bridgeport may have remained steady resulting from more immigration than Hartford, but that's probably not true. I just looked it up, and Hartford is 40% Hispanic while Bridgeport is only 30%, so that kills my idea...

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I would've said that Bridgeport may have remained steady resulting from more immigration than Hartford, but that's probably not true. I just looked it up, and Hartford is 40% Hispanic while Bridgeport is only 30%, so that kills my idea...

bridgeport has a large brazilian population. i don't think they consider themselves hispanic.

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