By Mike Maciag | Governing
For years, many declining industrial cities watched as a steady stream of residents packed up their bags and moved away. Over time, as few people moved in to replace them, these cities became dominated by residents who had grown up in the area or had lived there for most of their lives.
Places like these are marked by people who maintain strong local ties and are generally more civically active, making for distinct communities. To help gauge how deeply rooted residents are in cities, Governing analyzed data from the Census Bureau’s latest American Community Survey. Factors reviewed included length of housing tenure, whether people lived in the state where they were born and recent migration data. From these measures, several cities emerged as places where residents tend to have deep local roots.
