Jennifer Tran ‘17

An Essay for From Hartford to World Cities (URST 201)

Fall 2014

What is “urban poverty”? Can (or should) we measure “urban poverty” solely on statistics such the ones above or with some subjectivity? What truly constitutes a “poor” city? Despite a stunning skyline, home to a host of prominent international companies, and well-known as the “connective corridor” between Boston and New York City and the “insurance capital of the world,” Hartford, Connecticut is considered to be the fourth poorest city in the nation. But how? The urban core dynamic of Hartford, Connecticut plays a significant role in helping Hartford achieve a rather skewed statistic about its wealth and role in the New England region – Downtown, supposed to be the heart of any older city, is supposed to be the most vibrant part of Hartford, but also has become an often marginalized place that has lost its identity with a slew of development.

Growing up in Syracuse, New York, a city with a population of 130,000 people and whose regional power extends dozens of miles from its downtown core, I found that almost no neighborhood in the city and its surrounding suburbs that was “poor.” Abandoned warehouses and factories along the once prominent manufacturing hub on the East side formed a sad residual on the city landscape, but left me undaunted about the city’s wealth and influence in Upstate New York. Only two miles away from the East side, Syracuse’s four main hospitals were expanding and Syracuse University was receiving a peak number of applications and starting construction on a transport system that could bus 30,000 of its students to Downtown every day and would allow Syracuse University Hill residents to ride on a bike-only lane to Downtown and other parts of the city. Hancock International Airport and Amtrak/Bus station on the North end of the city were seeing record traffic flows and receiving great interest from airlines, bus companies, and government institutions to expand services from Syracuse.

Despite a school district where roughly only eight percent of the student body met the New York State testing standards in Math and English, Syracuse was named the fourth best city to raise a family and ranked sixth in education in the entire country (“In Pictures”). Furthermore, Syracuse is a city whose neighborhoods are interconnected and drive a community atmosphere – nearly all of classmates associate themselves with at least one community within the city – “Little Italy,” “Little Saigon,” “Irish Tipp Hill Community,” and much more.

My perspective on a “poor” city became even more perplexing while I was driving on Interstate 84 in Connecticut and after taking a short glimpse of the Connecticut River, I was overwhelmed by the Hartford skyline backdrop as the Interstate looped around the city. Prior to leaving Syracuse, I considered Hartford to be “very similar” to Syracuse: a grand expose of tall skyscrapers and old historic New England buildings. How could a city of that size boast so many prestigious corporate headquarters and regional offices and maintain thousands of jobs within its Downtown core? How could the city of Hartford, despite its proximity to Boston and New York City, have a hospital that is larger in square footage than Syracuse’s five hospitals combined (also considering Syracuse is the only city within a one hundred mile radius and a 1.5 hour drive – comparable from Hartford to Boston)? And yet, interestingly enough, how could Hartford be “poorer” than Syracuse based on median family income (especially when I and other Syracuse residents can argue that Hartford is not “poorer” than Syracuse, see the comparative statistics below)? Even more debatable is how are two relatively vibrant Northeast medium-sized cities considered two of the fifteen poorest cities in the United States?[1] 

A closer examination of Hartford’s poverty requires us to look at more than just household income statistics, median home prices, and other common economic data. Hartford, a city with a relatively vibrant Downtown, connected communities, and still very essential businesses to the greater region, challenges us to understand the true dynamics behind the city and why these dynamics may cause it (and other “strong” American cities) to be classified as “poor.” If you take a bus ride to Downtown Hartford on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, it is eerily quiet and many times, you will find yourself to be one of the handfuls of people walking around downtown in a mist of silence. However, if you take a ride to downtown Hartford on a weekday evening, you will find that you will be mixed in a flurry of downtown workers completing errands before businesses close down and catching the evening bus back home (and driving home). Similarly, downtown Syracuse is nearly empty on the weekends and all of the pedestrians and parked cars that crowd along its one-way roads on the weekdays escape the city for the weekend.

Both Hartford and Syracuse suffer from a pattern that Andrew Walsh of Trinity College in his essay, “Hartford: A Global History,” calls as the development of a “functional unit where the vast majority of residents living and working in sprawling, low-density suburbs.”[2] Unlike downtown areas in other cities, downtown Hartford has a much lower number of people living in it (about 1,235 people) than work in it (how is downtown defined? each weekday (about 50,000 people).[3] The small number of people living in downtown Hartford in comparison to its massive workforce causes the area to essentially lose its vitality after business hours and on the weekends – discouraging developers from opening businesses that could compete with the likes of Blueback Square and Westfarms Mall in West Hartford or even Charter Oak Place in Hartford.

Though there are statistics that indicate that there is a growing demand for Downtown housing in the past few years and recent Downtown housing projects such as Hartford 21 on Trumbull Street, The Lofts on Main Street, and 915 Main Street are at nearly full capacity, Downtown Hartford has not been able to attract a diverse mix of people. Downtown Hartford tends to attract a high number of young single people interested in one bedroom apartments – therefore, almost eliminating the family apartment or single home real estate business in Downtown altogether – and a wealthier population as much of its most prominent apartment complexes cost nearly $2,000 a month to rent.[4] The composition of Downtown Hartford living units makes it almost impossible for a middle-class family to move into the area and any retail or restaurant businesses in the area to serve a diverse mix of people with various income levels. Though Downtown Hartford does not lack jobs or a growing number of young, wealthy people moving into its numerous new, sleek apartment buildings, Downtown Hartford is a relatively “poor” urban center as it does not foster a family centered environment and marginalizes most low-income and lower middle class residents.

How about the tall skyscrapers and modern architecture that line the Hartford skyline and overlook Interstate 84? Can a city’s infrastructure still measure a city’s wealth? To some, it can be a subjective factor that indicates a city’s wealth – with only four tall commercial buildings (more than 19 floors), Syracuse seemed like almost a destitute city compared to Hartford whose towering skyline and mix of old architecture is quite stunning.[5]^,[6] When examining the architecture and built environment of Downtown Hartford, I noticed that Downtown Hartford has a rather unique, but yet depressed landscape. Downtown Hartford’s buildings convey a historical transformation: From the 1960s to the mid-1980s, Downtown Hartford was one of the nation’s fastest growing office space markets and well-known buildings such as City Place, 777 Main Street, 280 Trumbull, and One Financial Plaza were constructed during the time period.[7] However, today, the eeriness and silence of some parts of Downtown are not only because of Downtown workers have left their jobs for the day or because Downtown has few residents, but also because nearly one-third of Downtown Hartford’s office space remains empty. Hartford’s office space market severely declined in 2010 when office space vacancy in Downtown jumped from 18.3 percent to 32.3 percent. In 2010, ING, the Dutch insurance company, relocated from State House Square in Downtown Hartford to its current 475,000-square-foot headquarters in the nearby suburb of Windsor.[8] Last winter, walking down Main Street, I found it surprising that the former Bank of America building on 777 Main was completely empty – and saw that the abandoned building did not fit in with its surroundings (a busy bus stop in front of the Old State House and adjacent to the United Technologies Building). Furthermore, while looking across from Constitution Plaza, the abandoned Connecticut River Plaza towers waved a grand and yet, hopeless “For Lease” banner on its side facade. Inside some of Downtown Hartford’s top buildings was virtually nothing – and though they may seem grand on the outside, their “emptiness” was creating an economically stagnant Hartford.

And unfortunately, Hartford’s revitalization plans for its abandoned buildings are not very promising either. The former Bank of America tower on Main Street will be converted into a twenty-two story apartment complex whose rent prices expected to range from $800 to $1,900 a month will still be out of reach for most low to middle income Hartford residents. The Bank of America tower revitalization joins other office space to apartment conversions in the Downtown area which causes the concern that Downtown Hartford could become oversaturated with high-end (and mostly) one bedroom apartments in the next coming years.[9] Constitution River Plaza has recently been acquired by the Connecticut State Government which is an alternative to office space to apartment conversion, but further eliminates the chance of Hartford receiving tax revenue from the building’s tenants. Despite these investments in Downtown Hartford and City Hall’s rather enthusiastic candidness on them, Downtown Hartford’s stunning skyline is lacking the true developments that will develop into a diverse and welcoming urban center for Hartford residents of all backgrounds. Downtown Hartford’s dilemma with repurposing its historic infrastructure and struggle to make its main Downtown corridor attractive to strong businesses will continue to make Downtown Hartford “impoverished.”

When one comes from Hartford, Connecticut hailing from a small to medium sized city that is supposed to be “comparable” to Hartford, one can recognize that Hartford does not seem to be the fourth poorest city in the nation. Hartford does not seem poor – in fact, it looks like it trumps many “richer” cities in the U.S. Walking around Downtown, one would be impressed by the numerous prestigious company logos on various buildings, towering skyscrapers, and the seemingly hundreds of people around the area. But with close examination, one would wonder, “Why are some of Hartford’s top skyscrapers unlit during the night?” and “Why is that Downtown Hartford attracts mostly upper middle class young people?” The answers to the questions help people better recognize why Hartford is poor – and not just basing off of common economic statistics determining a city’s wealth.