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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—On Newsweek’s website, it ran an article titled “America’s Dying Cities,” which named 10 cities nationwide they say are dying. Reporters used U.S. census data from 2000 and 2010, and in particular it looked for the steepest declines in populations of people under the age of 18, and the steepest declines in overall population. Grand Rapids, Mich., made the list of dying cities, among several other Michigan cities.
In an official response to the article, the city of Grand Rapids created a video to articulate its feelings about the article. According to officials, it is not a city in decline, but a city that is vibrant, alive, and growing. The nine minute video Roger Ebert calls, “the greatest music video ever made” is a community effort lip-sync dub to a live version of Don McClean’s song American Pie. Not an easy task, it was recorded in one long continuous shot.
A collaboration between the city, several nonprofit organizations, and local universities, the video involved over 5,000 people in the actual filming of the video, and several sections of the city had to be closed down to create it. The total production cost of $40,000 was donated by Grand Rapids businesses and individuals.
Grand Rapids is sending a message with this video, that not only is the city not dying, but there are enough concerned citizens, businesses, organizations, and interested parties working together to build Grand Rapids and make it a thriving center of business, entertainment, education, and creativity.
Newsweek has since clarified that the article was done by the website Mainstreet. On a Facebook memo they wrote, “First off, we LOVE your YouTube LipDub. We’re big fans, and are inspired by your love of the city you call home. But so you know what was up with the list you’re responding to, we want you to know it was done by a website called mainstreet.com—not by Newsweek (it was unfortunately picked up on the Newsweek website as part of a content sharing deal)—and it uses a methodology that our current editorial team doesn’t endorse and wouldn’t have employed. It certainly doesn’t reflect our view of Grand Rapids.”
With current unemployment rates up, it is surprising that Michigan is not topping the list as it has in the past. According to The Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, unemployment rates rose in most states in May. The national average rate is 9.6 percent unemployment, with 10 states having increases significantly above the national rate. This was the first time since 2005 that Michigan did not top the list. Nevada tops the list with 14.9 percent, followed by Michigan with 12.5 percent, and California with 12.4 percent.
A fortunate 27 states have significantly lower unemployment rates than the national average.
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