the future of cities

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Chicago seems ascendant, the forest of construction cranes along its skyline creating the impression of a boomtown. The reality, however, is more complex. Empty nesters and yuppies tend to be the ones filling the high-rises, while families with children escape to the urban fringe. Census figures show that from 1950 to 2000, Chicago's population dropped from 3.6 million to slightly less than 2.9 million, a decline of 20 percent—healthy compared to the 50 percent declines in St. Louis and Detroit, but still troubling.

Heh.