With a new emphasis on culture, a drop in the crime rate, and a real push to compete with Boston as a technology region, Washington DC is attracting suburbanites back to the city. Some of the new improvements include an upgrade to the public transportation to light rail, the Andy Warhol Musem, and a new urbanism community in the Squirrel Hill area, which is a brownfield reclamation project. Spokane has great prices on great old homes, according to Katz, and attracts new residents from California and Puget Sound. Riverfront Park, a former abandoned rail and industrial site changed into Spokane's Expo '74 provides greenspace and river views. Eighty blocks of early 20th century buildings are a local treasure for history and architecture buffs.
Outdoor sports abound.
Chicago is booming with loft conversions and renewed vitality. Ethic diversity and restaurants have always been mainstays in this windy city on Lake Michigan. Miles and miles of green parks are a big draw to residents who want to enjoy the outdoors. Katz says that the mayor, Richard Daley, has planted tens of thousands of trees and promotes traffic calming efforts. A new riverfront park is bringing life back to the city of Cincinnati on the banks of the mighty Ohio River.