Forbes lists Bridgeport as fourth-dirtiest city in U.S. ( Conn )

ct post ^ | December 11, 2012 | Tom Cleary

[george76]

Citing blighted buildings, polluted property and poor air quality, Forbes Magazine named Bridgeport as the fourth "dirtiest city" in America.

But look at the bright side Bridgeport residents: Your city is cleaner than Fresno, Calif.; Bakersfield, Calif.; and Philadelphia.

"Green" Mayor Bill Finch, who has frequently touted the BGreen2020 sustainability initiative to improve the quality of life in Bridgeport, was among many from the city to take offense to the ranking.

...

The image of Bridgeport put forth by Forbes was similar to its portrayal on FOX's animated comedy show "Family Guy" two years ago, casting the Park City as "among the world leaders in abandoned buildings, shattered glass, boarded-up windows... ."

[driftless2]

Never been to Bridgeport, but I have driven through Fresno and Bakersfield if only on the interstate. Can’t say I saw much blight from the four-lane. I will say parts of Barstow looked like it had been hit by a squadron of B-52s. Boarded up/half destroyed homes, and trash everywhere on the approach coming in from Victorville.

[PieterCasparzen]

Riding past it in the 1970’s on the turnpike... it was a dirty place.

I guess like NJ, they simply surrendered their city areas a long time ago.

Surrender does not win.

Cities need to be clean up.

First the people’s morals.

Then they ( a moral people ) will clean things where the live, starting with corruption and crime, then going on from there.

Crime does not have to win. The local people just have to vomit it out from their town. It takes a concerted effort to change hearts and minds of everyone.

[KosmicKitty]

I don’t even like taking the train through Bridgeport to get to NYC.

Got lost there once, 17 years ago. Was a scary experience. Many streets cut off by jersey barriers to keep drug buyers from having a quick in and out. All marked by gangs to show ownership of their neighborhoods.

Just kept looking down so as not to make eye contact with the many gang-bangers hanging out and finally found our way back to the highway where we got the heck out of there.

[golux]

Gotta love all the New Haven residents who bitch about Yale's effect on their city (Yale is by far New Haven's biggest employer) but wouldn't be caught dead in Bridgeport, which, essentially, (now that the great firearms manufacturers have largely skipped New Haven) is New Haven without Yale.

These are the same white folks who moved to New York and bitched about Giuliani's "racist" tough-on-crime policies, as they moved into neighborhoods they WOULD have been found dead in before Giuliani.

[married21]

Bakersfield and Fresno are hampered by geography. Smog just sits there because there is a mountain range which it can’t blow over.

I go to Bakersfield a couple of times a year. It has old oil refineries, and there is poverty, but also a lot of tidy tract neighborhoods in different income ranges. My nephew, a left wing photographer who is into urban decay, took pictures of rough industrial buildings and occasional vagrants in Bakersfield for the past several years, but not one of litter or tagging. If there was something really disgusting, I think I would have seen a picture by now. I wonder if Bakersfield has gotten a bit of a bad rap here.

[ScottinVA]

Your city is cleaner than Fresno, Calif.; Bakersfield, Calif.; and Philadelphia.

"Well, whoopee... Congratulations."

[Tracker47]

I worked there for 4 years, lived next door to it for 28 years. The city has no redeeming features. It’s the armpit of the northeast, but a shower won’t help it.

[Gay State Conservative]

I've driven through Bridgeport hundreds of times on I-95 but I've never set foot in the city.I've also visited Third World cities in Asia,Africa and South America....and I'll be damned if I can tell the difference.

Bridgeport and Detroit....about 100 megatons should take care of both.

[peeps36]

Bridgeport is a dump just like most other cities in America. It is full of Obama supporting lowlifes who think the American dream consists of welfare, Obama phones and food stamps.

[Scoutmaster]

Gotta love all the New Haven residents who bitch about Yale's effect on their city

Don't know if it's still popular, but when Yale was the 'visitor' and was about to win a collegiate athletic event, the home team students would begin to chant:

"You may have won, but you have to go home to New Haven."

I can't say much for the cadence, but the sentiment was heartfelt.

[kabar]

Bridgeport is the most populous city in Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area.

The first English settlement on the west bank of the mouth of the Pequonnock River was made somewhere between 1639 and 1665 and was called Pequonnock. The village was renamed Newfield sometime before 1777. More people settled further inland and to the West and the area officially became known as Stratfield in 1701, likely due to its location between the already existing towns of Stratford and Fairfield. During the American Revolution, Bridgeport was a center of privateering. In 1800, Newfield village was chartered as the borough of Bridgeport, and in 1821 the township of Bridgeport, including more of Stratfield, was incorporated. Bridgeport was chartered as a city in 1836.

As of the 2010 census, there were 144,229 people residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city residents was 39.6% White; 34.6% Black or African American; 3.4% Asian; and 4.3% from two or more races. A total of 38.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Non-Hispanic Whites were 22.7% of the population in 2010, compared to 74.6% in 1970.

Demography is destiny.