Forbes looks at emerging downtowns of El Paso, 14 other U.S. cities

America’s major metro area downtowns welcomed double-digit population growth in the decade ending 2010, more than double the rate of growth for their overall cities, according to the U.S. Census as featured in a Forbes online post this month.

“As more Americans, particularly college-educated young adults ages 25 to 34, opt for urban lifestyles, cities scramble to revitalize their central business districts. Here’s a run-down of some of the development efforts underway in U.S. cities,” the post states.

“The Texas border hub launched efforts to revitalize its downtown in 2006, with the help of more than $700 million in government reinvestment,” the post states about El Paso. “In November voters cleared the use $473 million in bonds to be put towards 85 separate redevelopment projects. Among the larger projects slated: a new children’s museum, a cultural heritage center, and a new Triple-A baseball stadium for which construction will begin this spring. Joyce Wilson, El Paso’s city manager, expects the area will see a doubling in growth in terms of the tax base within the next five to 10 years, as the number of local residents and businesses grow.”

See the full slideshow here.