The deterioration of a town
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Here's a question; how long does it take for a town thats already in crappy shape to become a ghost town? I lived in a city fir eight years where business's were slowly dying [got out just in time too]. Well, after I ended my eight year stay, three of the most important factories/jobs the town had have since gone into smoke or danger. Archway was one of them [they make cookies]. That building was around since I was a freakin' kid, and now it went out due to the higher-ups cheating on their taxes [selectively choosing what to put on the forms, if you will]. The only thing this town really has besides three factories are a Wall-Mart and several restaurants. There is a LARGE section of this town where nothing but two-hundred year old [not kidding about the age] abandoned buildings made of adobe brick can be seen. There are a few dozen of them, in an area with decrepit brick roads. We have a bloody Save-a-Lot, and stuff like that, with five or six gas stations, and that pretty much sums it up. There's been talk about the town becoming barren, or a ghost town, and I quite frankly believe it about now. Friends that still reside there tell me it is damn near impossible to get a job, and many of them drive out of town to get to their jobs. I'm just curious though; how long does it take for a small town to become barren when its' already in such poor shape? I give this town twenty years, but I've never experienced anything like a town giving it up. If I were to guess, I'd say the population is at twenty thousand. Any thoughts? Not really on my old town, but towns in general; what does it take to disable a town?
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few resources; like water, good soil, trees.
small birthrates
not high on technology
financial difficuties.
other than that it can be better or worsen by.. wait for it..
small birthrates
not high on technology
financial difficuties.
other than that it can be better or worsen by.. wait for it..
Spoiler:
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For a town to be a "Ghost Town" it has to be completly deserted and pretty run-down. Of course, when most people hear "Ghost Town," they think of an old, western-style town.
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MidgarKonotsu wrote...
For a town to be a "Ghost Town" it has to be completly deserted and pretty run-down. Of course, when most people hear "Ghost Town," they think of an old, western-style town.That's what I'm saying. I was speaking of how long it takes for any given town to become completely deserted. I figured most people knew what ghost town mean, and I had no idea that some thought of a western kind of town. ....how odd. Oh well, pop culture takes us all down a few notches from time to time :lol:
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alexanderthenine wrote...
MidgarKonotsu wrote...
For a town to be a "Ghost Town" it has to be completly deserted and pretty run-down. Of course, when most people hear "Ghost Town," they think of an old, western-style town.That's what I'm saying. I was speaking of how long it takes for any given town to become completely deserted. I figured most people knew what ghost town mean, and I had no idea that some thought of a western kind of town. ....how odd. Oh well, pop culture takes us all down a few notches from time to time :lol:
Overall, I give it maybe 20 years but, people like to cling to outdated things. So raise that up to 50. If things continue to decline for the next 50 years nobody will be left and the houses will begin to crumble. Though in extreme circumstances a town can become a ghost town overnight but, something series has to happen.
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You have to understand that with the advent of computers and internet, a lot of things can be done from home, like SOHOs. If not, one can search for jobs on the internet. Commnications have greatly advanced so to speak. I live in the suburbs even though we call it a city. (NJ btw) So people often take the trains to work in NY and other cities in the Tri-state area. Unless it's an isolated town, a town with few people (less than 50,000), or a town based on a certain industry(s) like yours, normally towns would probably never become a ghost town. Technology and living standards have changed and advanced so much that it takes more than core industries of a city to make it become a ghost town. After all, people still need a place to live in, and basic facilities will be still running: Food markets, power plants, gas stations, water supply, governance of the city, etc.
According to your facts, I'll have to assume that it will eventually (give or take a few decades) crumble due to the fact that the few core industries that the city was based on have been taken away with only a population of 20,000. Fuck, my high school had a population of 2,600 people, more than 1/10th of the people living in your old city. Unless it's a town that can self-sustain itself (my city has most if not all types of services and some industries - it can most likely sustain itself in an event something catastrophic occurs), it probably won't be able to stay up for long, especially if the city is isolated and cannot easily reach others for help. Neighboring cities always tend to help each other economically.
According to your facts, I'll have to assume that it will eventually (give or take a few decades) crumble due to the fact that the few core industries that the city was based on have been taken away with only a population of 20,000. Fuck, my high school had a population of 2,600 people, more than 1/10th of the people living in your old city. Unless it's a town that can self-sustain itself (my city has most if not all types of services and some industries - it can most likely sustain itself in an event something catastrophic occurs), it probably won't be able to stay up for long, especially if the city is isolated and cannot easily reach others for help. Neighboring cities always tend to help each other economically.
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well in order for a town to become a ghost town, absolutely no one can live there. It doesn't have to just be a shitty town, a shitty town can always degrade into a slum or a ghetto. Usually towns die as a result of their main source of income simply dissapearing, something that's not present in trading towns, usually mining towns. The mines dry up, most of the towns' population loses their jobs and then everybody loses their jobs and moves out.
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Ghost town means a empty town of city with no people living there when buildings is abandoned or in ruins.
It can be instanteous to taking several decades. It depends on what problems the town is suffering from, isolation, plague outbreak, or lack of jobs, low birthrate and many more possible problems.
There's ghost cities all over the planet. There's an fairly modern ghost city called cheryneobol something i think, a city which was exposed to radiation leak from outdated nuclear power plant. People left it in a hurry, and its been abandoned for decades.
It can be instanteous to taking several decades. It depends on what problems the town is suffering from, isolation, plague outbreak, or lack of jobs, low birthrate and many more possible problems.
There's ghost cities all over the planet. There's an fairly modern ghost city called cheryneobol something i think, a city which was exposed to radiation leak from outdated nuclear power plant. People left it in a hurry, and its been abandoned for decades.
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Callonia wrote...
There's ghost cities all over the planet. There's an fairly modern ghost city called cheryneobol something i think, a city which was exposed to radiation leak from outdated nuclear power plant. People left it in a hurry, and its been abandoned for decades.
Chernobyl is a particularly famous site. but it's reasons for being empty are an exception, rather than the rule. Most ghost towns are created through economic reasons instead of nuclear ones.
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There arn't really any such things as ghost towns anymore, aside from places with some devistating tragedy. I think most places just sortof fade from the minds of generall society, but people still live there. That's sortof how Detroit is, or is at least becoming. You don't really see people around a lot of places, but they still live there.
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lemiel wrote...
Callonia wrote...
There's ghost cities all over the planet. There's an fairly modern ghost city called cheryneobol something i think, a city which was exposed to radiation leak from outdated nuclear power plant. People left it in a hurry, and its been abandoned for decades.
Chernobyl is a particularly famous site. but it's reasons for being empty are an exception, rather than the rule. Most ghost towns are created through economic reasons instead of nuclear ones.
Yes, but a nuclear reason is still one of possible reasons on how a city can become a ghost town. I chose it to show that anything can really happen even when it's an rare event.
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Even though what you state shows a decline in the town resources, I doubt that it will become a ghost town in our lifetime. It would take a lot for a town to be totally deserted, plus, like you stated, people are driving out of town, so if they are fine doing it now, I am sure some will continue to do it instead of moving. Especially if they really like the town, some will always stay and hope.