Talented young people graduated from high school and moved away in droves because this city chose to stand still. Jobs move away. New home construction dies. Commercial development becomes nonexistent. Real estate values decline.
Retail shops escape to greener pastures.
Teachers look elsewhere for better-paying jobs. Educational quality declines. Streets are neglected and potholes run wild. Police and fire services whack budgets. The turning point came in the 1970s, when industrial growth paved the way toward a different mindset that exists today.