The Immortality of Cities

The sport of "Basket Ball" was invented in 1891 by a man named James Naismith at a YMCA in western Massachusetts. This I learned while visiting the Basketball Hall of Fame today for an assignment in Springfield, Massachusetts.

I'm afraid that's the only fact I can recite though from my brief visit to the new $45 million museum along the banks of the Connecticut river. I stayed too busy videotaping the campus at the Western New England School of Law, a fabulous green space called Forest Park and several Elizabethan style homes.

The outskirts of Springfield appear vibrant and strong but the rest of downtown is sadly in need of a financial shot in the arm. Dozens of city blocks and shop windows are vacant with homeless derelicts sleeping on street corners and pavement crumbling from neglect. The water fountains in the park are empty, graffiti defaces historic brick walls and scores of poor people live in subsidized apartments. The library, banks and post office are still open but where are all the people?

It's a situation I see far too often traveling, like in Binghampton, Syracuse and Rochester, New York, the East Side of St. Louis, MO and now Springfield, Massachusetts.

What to do with America's dying downtowns? Revitalization, reconstruction, urban renewal, these are successful alternatives from keeping any Main street from turning into a dust bowl. If a town can capitalize on their historic buildings, improve safety, clean up the garbage and increase parking, much like Albany, NY has done the past 10 years, I see no reason why retail and commercial property owners can't return.

Every city has a unique heritage and though I know very little about Springfield outside of observation it definitely looks like it's worth saving.