Census: Dayton among worst in U.S. to lose downtown population

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Downtown Dayton is gaining new residents, but neighborhoods located within two miles of City Hall saw one of the largest population declines in the nation between 2000 and 2010, according to a new Census analysis.

Cities grow out from the center, and buildings and houses within the first couple of miles of the downtown core often are older structures that have either been renovated or they are falling apart and obsolete, said Jack Dustin, director with the Center for Urban and Public Affairs at Wright State University.

Many homes near downtown are old and have not been rehabilitated, and values have declined, and some homes have been abandoned or foreclosed on, he said.

“What we need a renewal process, and a rehabilitation process, but instead, we’ve faced a loss of some of our industries, and we still have development that is drawing commercial development and even residential development out of the city,” he said.

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