Will The Pandemic Start A Downstate Renaissance?
Upper left square: Peoria, upper right square: Danville, lower left square: Champaign, lower right square: State Capitol in Springfield Peoria Public Radio and Reginald Hardwick/Illinois Newsroom
According to a Harris Poll taken in April, a third of Americans were considering moving to less densely populated places because of the pandemic. More recently, Business Insider ranked the “30 best American cities to live in after the pandemic” based on nine economic, educational and demographic measures. Number one on the list is Springfield, Illinois. Other Downstate cities making the list: Bloomington (4th), Champaign (5th), Peoria (28th), and Danville (30th).
The 21st is joined with an author, professor and an urbanologist to talk about the potential for a Downstate population boom.
Guests:
Ted McClelland, writer whose article “Could COVID-19 Spark A Downstate Renaissance” recently appeared in Chicago magazine, author of several books including most recently, How to Speak Midwestern
Max Grinnell, Urbanologist, geographer and historian who studied at the University of Chicago, and currently a professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Teresa Cordova, Director of the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois - Chicago, where she is also a professor of Urban Planning and Policy
If not for family my wife & I would really consider it. Beautiful cities & �� prices. Life seems more manageable downstate, but maybe it's just a case of the grass always seeming greener on the other side.
— John (@2cooljohn) July 15, 2020
Prepared for web by Zainab Qureshi
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