Background on Inner Cities and Hartford, CT

BACKGROUND ON INNER CITIES AND HARTFORD, CT
November 4, 1999

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON INNER CITIES

A booming national economy, coupled with the success of strong local efforts and the Clinton Administration's community development agenda, has helped many cities experience a strong fiscal and economic recovery. But while many inner cities -- poor urban neighborhoods within larger central cities — have seen economic gains, they still have not fully participated in the economic prosperity and may face the challenges of population decline, loss of middle-class families, slow job growth, income inequality, and poverty. Furthermore, inner city neighborhoods often lag behind the strong economies of the vibrant metropolitan areas in which they are located – and at the end of the 20th century there are still pockets of poverty amidst the growing national economic prosperity.

THE GOOD NEWS FOR OUR NATION'S CITIES

SOME CITIES STILL FACE CHALLENGES TO ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

BACKGROUND ON HARTFORD

Hartford is the capital of the State of Connecticut and the core of a metropolitan area with a population of over one million. The City of Hartford has a long history as a thriving manufacturing center for precision manufacturers producing such goods as firearms, typewriters, bicycles and early automobiles. It later developed as a center for defense-related industries and as the headquarters for many of our nation's leading banks and insurance companies. As a result of the national recession that occurred during 1989-1992, many of the companies located in the region underwent an economic restructuring, resulting in a loss of jobs, a decline in population, abandoned housing and a blighted and underutilized downtown and commercial district. Key facts about Hartford include:

Hartford is home to more insurance companies than any other city in the world. It serves as the headquarters for Aetna Life Insurance Company, Travelers Insurance Company, Hartford Fire Insurance Company, Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Company and Principal Mutual Life Insurance Company. It is also considered the state's cultural center, featuring its own symphony, ballet and opera companies, the Wadsworth Atheneum, -- the nation's oldest public art museum, and the Hartford Stage, a Tony-award winning theatre company.

 

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