Your future is better in Cedar Rapids

 

In Monday's column I reviewed an article published in the January 1974 issue of U.S. News & World Report. Authors of that article interviewed numerous futurists about what the United States sould be like in 1994, and on the whole, they were extremely optimistic about life in the United States today. To summarize, they envisioned a richer and more cooperative society. No projections were made about a $4.5 trillion debt, social tensions, or the continued rate of crime (it has been about the same since '81, although violent teen crime appears to have increased.)

 

I ended by suggesting one of the best places to live your future is here in Cedar Rapids.

 

Why? Last spring, David Wessel of the Wall Street Journal interviewed a number of locals, looked over our city and proclaimed this is the best one can get. He went on to describe the local economy and environs.

In Monday's column, one futurist suggested world chaos, social upheaval and major plagues here in the United States.

All of this can happen here, too. However, many social problems experienced elsewhere are NOT as pronounced here. When I was interviewing for a position at Kirkwood 16 years ago, I was most impressed that Cedar Rapids was more like pretty cities in the Great Lakes region (such as Minnesota and Wisconsin) than in the Plains, where the Census Bureau officially places us.

Add to the scenario a good economy, a pretty downtown, two very attractive shopping malls, and a huge lake nearby. Then add all the creeks, ponds, woods, bluffs, rolling hills and about 600 deer in the city and you get a pretty good deal.

Go to the Cedar River some summer weekend afternoon at Ellis or Mohawk parks and watch the folks on ski jets, speed boats and pontoons.

In winter, deer walk down my street in the middle of the night.

Now comes the best part. It is what doesn't happen in Cedar Rapids that bodes well for its future. Look at all the statistics that deal with human pathologies such as murder, rape and related crimes and then look at overpopulation, blight and the baggage that goes with it. We have less of it.

It is always hard to predict what will happen in the future. At best, futurists try to find "trends" and then make forecasts.

During the '50s, Cedar Rapids was thought to be "recession proof." and during the farm crisis of the '80s we learned that was not accurate.

I see edge cities (suburban cities) and small urban areas in general and Cedar Rapids in particular as best able to weather society's storms in years to come. Their land markets, resources and labor are very attractive to outside corporations. Further helping these places is their relative calm and social stability. Thus, economic development is easier.

There are approximately 185 million people in this country today who were alive in 1974 Are you one of those people? Perhaps you will be part of the country in 2014.

And what about those next 20 years?

What will life be like in 2014? Of course, I i don't know. But it would appear hard times are ahead relative to some of the prosperity i folks saw during the '50s through early 70s.

On the other hand, Cedar Rapids and cities like it will probably have less problems. For that, one has to be optimistic.

Joel Snell of Cedar Rapids is professor of social science at Kirkwood Community College.