To answer the question of what led to the West Side's bad rap--a lot of it has to do with Duluth's economic history. 50 years ago there was a robust manufacturing center based out that way, but a lot of that fell off in the 1980s. I don't have numbers, but I'd assume most of Duluth's demographic decline over that time happened on the west side; the main employers on the east side (hospitals, universities, corporate and government jobs) are much more resistant to recessions than manufacturing. That made for relative stability out East and a lot of empty space and some neglect out West, and once that reputation is ingrained, it creates a set of incentives that is hard to reverse. (Ask anywhere in the rust belt.) Thankfully, there have been some signs of real positive energy out west lately. People are starting to notice that it's not Detroit.

I think the West Side's biggest issue now isn't really the perception that it's horrible and blighted; it's more of a "why bother" attitude. It's just sort of there. It's not terrible, but there's this sense that nothing much has happened out that way since 1980. "Look, it's really not that bad" isn't a very good selling point. There has to be a more comprehensive sales pitch--which, again, we've started to see recently.

Schools are probably a part of it. People complain about the enrollment imbalance, and while there are some things the District can and should do to fix that, or at least guarantee greater equity in course offerings, etc., reality is that roughly 50% of the student-aged population lives east of 21st Ave. E. Higher-income areas almost always produce higher test scores, so (right or wrong) the East Side will probably continue to draw families because of that. Because the school-aged population on the west side had been hollowed out, the Red Plan closures hit it much harder than the east side, in turn causing more disruption. It's a difficult cycle to escape.

Also, a few areas that do suffer from some urban blight--the old Seaway in Lincoln Park, for example--can drag down the public perception of an entire area. Most of Lincoln Park is pretty placid, but there are a few pockets that scare people off. The paper mill smell is another complaint I've heard. On the flip side, proximity to Congdon can make some of the middle-class east side neighborhoods look glitzier than they are. Public perception of a region often trends toward the extremes.

If you haven't read enough of my blathering, I've spilled out an awful lot on Duluth's east-west divide ... some of the highlights are available at apatientcycle.com.