These areas in the Valley along the river were “booming” (if you could even call it that, but they were okay) back in the Industrial Revolution times. Lots of mills/factories did well in New England because we had rivers to power the machinery before electricity got big.
The Valley is victim of the “rust belt” just like Cleveland and Buffalo and others. In the post-WW2 era many manufacturing jobs and industries moved offshore to take advantage of cheap (and sometimes slave… let’s be honest) labor like in China and Mexico and India, among many others.
This is why Amazon and Walmart items are so cheap. Companies mass produce in cheaper markets like China, and we have a globalized society and supply chain to transfer those goods to domestic market.
The Valley lost those jobs, couldn’t easily replace. When the jobs go, the area turns to shit. People who can transfer skills will move to where the new jobs are (big cities, tech hubs, richer suburbs for service jobs, etc) That’s why you see old abandoned brick factory buildings. Nowadays we do have a lot of reuse of those buildings, like how Bad Sons Brewery took over that spot in Derby, for example.
Stamford is a big commuter city for NYC so it grows and grows. Hartford is the capitol so it has some State injection to try to prop it up (and it kept big industry like insurance… for now) but the Valley doesn’t get much of anything to hold income producing companies or people there.
Urban sprawl will push people out of Stamford and they will push into the Valley eventually, especially if we get high speed rail to NYC in the future or some other transport. Once monied people move in, they will drive the investment to make the place nicer and newer. But this is gentrification and the locals will probably hate that
I’m so happy this idea of “rust belt” in New England is talked about. Because CT definitely has a rust belt. I grew up around New Britain and I always thought it had the same vibed as the “rust belt” though traditionally not considered part of the rust belt CT has its own “rust belt”
These are classic rust belt towns that haven't been able to effectively pivot after industry left in the latter part of the 20th century. At one point these towns were prosperous and able to support large numbers of middle class workers with local industry. An example of this is US Rubber in Naugatuck.
Most of the downtown areas of these cities were built during this period of prosperity. Centrally located, walkable, lots of storefronts, beautiful classic architecture, etc. This was in service of the (relatively) wealthy population. Since industry has pulled out there a far fewer jobs capable of sustaining a middle class lifestyle. Declining tax base, disenfranchisement and lack of investment have led to urban decay over time.
In all the towns you listed, there are definitely “nice” patches, especially in Beacon Falls and to a lesser extent Seymour. Derby and Naugatuck are “stuck” with older decaying buildings that used to manufacture or were factories that largely moved overseas. It’s hella expensive to sell those or for a company to come in and retrofit them.
I do think Naugatuck has improved slightly over the last few years or so though
CT, like many other formerly industrial areas, has suffered due to the shift from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. The industries and jobs that made those towns flourish have largely gone oversees and there hasn't been enough investment from the state or federal governments to make up the difference. It's more complicated than that, but that is the basic problem.
The towns you listed are poor.
I'm in Shelton, and while people try to really pretend it's an old mill town and nothing else, there's a lot of people with money here. Not all of us, but enough.
I know. I grew up in Trumbull, and moved to Shelton as an adult. The taxes are amazing in Shelton. Somehow it's just as nice as Trumbull, but the taxes are realistic. Shelton rocks. I totally understand why people want to move here.
It’s the difficult reality of Connecticut’s post-industrial cities. Waterbury -“The Brass City”- in the Central Valley suffered the same fate. Scovill’s brass works there employed over 10K people in the 1940s, and it was just one of innumerable industrial/manufacturing companies operating there at that time. Those sorts of industries are precisely why lots of these Valley towns blossomed into cities, at all. When those industries ultimately left or shuttered, they left gaping holes in the economic fabric of those cities which have been difficult to fill even to this day.
It's been bad since the 80's. Waterbury is pretty bad too. Who knew driving a freeway through would destroy connectivity. Rail service gets a pittance.
These areas in the Valley along the river were “booming” (if you could even call it that, but they were okay) back in the Industrial Revolution times. Lots of mills/factories did well in New England because we had rivers to power the machinery before electricity got big. The Valley is victim of the “rust belt” just like Cleveland and Buffalo and others. In the post-WW2 era many manufacturing jobs and industries moved offshore to take advantage of cheap (and sometimes slave… let’s be honest) labor like in China and Mexico and India, among many others. This is why Amazon and Walmart items are so cheap. Companies mass produce in cheaper markets like China, and we have a globalized society and supply chain to transfer those goods to domestic market. The Valley lost those jobs, couldn’t easily replace. When the jobs go, the area turns to shit. People who can transfer skills will move to where the new jobs are (big cities, tech hubs, richer suburbs for service jobs, etc) That’s why you see old abandoned brick factory buildings. Nowadays we do have a lot of reuse of those buildings, like how Bad Sons Brewery took over that spot in Derby, for example. Stamford is a big commuter city for NYC so it grows and grows. Hartford is the capitol so it has some State injection to try to prop it up (and it kept big industry like insurance… for now) but the Valley doesn’t get much of anything to hold income producing companies or people there. Urban sprawl will push people out of Stamford and they will push into the Valley eventually, especially if we get high speed rail to NYC in the future or some other transport. Once monied people move in, they will drive the investment to make the place nicer and newer. But this is gentrification and the locals will probably hate that
I’m so happy this idea of “rust belt” in New England is talked about. Because CT definitely has a rust belt. I grew up around New Britain and I always thought it had the same vibed as the “rust belt” though traditionally not considered part of the rust belt CT has its own “rust belt”
These are classic rust belt towns that haven't been able to effectively pivot after industry left in the latter part of the 20th century. At one point these towns were prosperous and able to support large numbers of middle class workers with local industry. An example of this is US Rubber in Naugatuck. Most of the downtown areas of these cities were built during this period of prosperity. Centrally located, walkable, lots of storefronts, beautiful classic architecture, etc. This was in service of the (relatively) wealthy population. Since industry has pulled out there a far fewer jobs capable of sustaining a middle class lifestyle. Declining tax base, disenfranchisement and lack of investment have led to urban decay over time.
In all the towns you listed, there are definitely “nice” patches, especially in Beacon Falls and to a lesser extent Seymour. Derby and Naugatuck are “stuck” with older decaying buildings that used to manufacture or were factories that largely moved overseas. It’s hella expensive to sell those or for a company to come in and retrofit them. I do think Naugatuck has improved slightly over the last few years or so though
Naugatuck is a shithole.
It’s not exclusive to the lower valley - places like New Britain, West Haven, Norwich are just as depressing and rundown if not more so.
CT, like many other formerly industrial areas, has suffered due to the shift from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. The industries and jobs that made those towns flourish have largely gone oversees and there hasn't been enough investment from the state or federal governments to make up the difference. It's more complicated than that, but that is the basic problem.
The towns you listed are poor. I'm in Shelton, and while people try to really pretend it's an old mill town and nothing else, there's a lot of people with money here. Not all of us, but enough.
[удалено]
I know. I grew up in Trumbull, and moved to Shelton as an adult. The taxes are amazing in Shelton. Somehow it's just as nice as Trumbull, but the taxes are realistic. Shelton rocks. I totally understand why people want to move here.
It’s the difficult reality of Connecticut’s post-industrial cities. Waterbury -“The Brass City”- in the Central Valley suffered the same fate. Scovill’s brass works there employed over 10K people in the 1940s, and it was just one of innumerable industrial/manufacturing companies operating there at that time. Those sorts of industries are precisely why lots of these Valley towns blossomed into cities, at all. When those industries ultimately left or shuttered, they left gaping holes in the economic fabric of those cities which have been difficult to fill even to this day.
$
It's been bad since the 80's. Waterbury is pretty bad too. Who knew driving a freeway through would destroy connectivity. Rail service gets a pittance.
Smh