Move over, New Haven. Stamford took your spot

New Haven is no longer Connecticut’s second largest city now that Stamford has grown 10 percent in the last decade to 135,470 residents.

For generations, New Haven, or the Elm City, has been known as a cultural hub with its museums, theaters and higher education institutions. But Stamford has undergone significant economic development and it’s growing in residential construction. “Every year, there’s more housing built in Stamford,” said Mark Abraham, executive director of DataHaven, an organization that follows Connecticut’s trends.

I confess that I am torn. Although I lived in Stamford in the late 1990s, I also served on New Haven’s City Plan Commission until last year, so I have an affinity for both shoreline municipalities. I’ve noticed a few things about them.

First, redevelopment efforts matter. That’s something I have studied in New York tri-state area cities for a while.

But as a planning commissioner in New Haven, I grew concerned with the hoops and hurdles many developers faced in getting projects off the ground. Massive projects, like the 12-acre 201 Munson St. apartment complex, were frequently delayed. Developers associated with that particular project never built it.

Part of the problem is that New Haven’s economic development bureaucracy can be burdensome. The city has numerous management teams, local boards and commissions. Plus, New Haven has several development-related agencies, 30 elected alders and a strongmayor system. So, projects have to go through many entities and officials.

Elm City’s economic development process is not only difficult to understand, it’s also costly for developers and investors to pay lawyers, engineers, architects and other professionals.

Serving on the City Plan Commission, I witnessed and was a part of this red-tape maze.

Meanwhile, Stamford has significantly expanded waterfront communities like Harbor Point. It’s also grown its UConn Stamford campus. Stamford’s downtown housing is so popular that UConn added a new residence hall a few years ago. So many apartment and condominium complexes have also been constructed around downtown Stamford that it makes the area a desirable mixed-use and mixed-income space, especially near the expanding train station.

Since Stamford is already a notable corporate hub, it’s been a privatesector magnet for decades. Its economic development prowess has made it Connecticut’s second largest city, beating out New Haven.

Maybe a competition among shoreline cities will spark more growth and development in all of them in the near future. Urbanists and policy officials should examine Stamford and New Haven’s practices, and maybe the cities can trade concepts. In fact, another nearby city should be included for comparative sake: Bridgeport. It is after all, Connecticut’s largest city, even if its economic development has faced frequent setbacks.

Imagine the potential of Connecticut’s three largest shoreline cities growing and developing into urban models for the tri-state area and the New England region. These cities could serve as exemplars, assuming they effectively learn redevelopment approaches from one another. Time will tell, especially with another census in 10 years.

Urbanists and policy officials should examine Stamford and New Haven’s practices, and maybe the cities can trade concepts.

Contributed photo Jonathan L. Wharton is associate dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies and teaches political science at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.

Hearst Connecticut Media A view of Stamford, Connecticut city skyline in April 2020 from the Maher Road bridge on the East Side.