Employment growth in the core of downtown Hartford has accelerated since 2002, outpacing growth in the 10-mile radius around it, according to an Oregon think tank devoted to urban study.
The center-city growth observed in Hartford and elsewhere “represents the reversal of a historic trend of job de-centralization that has persisted for the past half century,” City Observatory said.
Hartford’s “center” — the area within three miles of the central business district — grew employment by 1.1 percent between 2007 and 2011, according to the report, which used U.S. Census data.
That compares to job losses of 0.4 percent in the surrounding peripheral area over that same time period.
Between 2002 and 2007, employment grew 0.7 percent in the downtown center and 0.4 percent in the peripheral area, the report said.
The same was true in 21 of the 41 metro areas the think tank analyzed.
