Jan. 20, 2015 – What Would the City of Troy Look Like? 1958 Predictions vs. 2015

What Would the City of Troy Look Like? 1958 Predictions vs. 2015

Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015

George Vilican a partner in the planning firm Vilican Lehman defended the need for the City of Troy’s comprehensive zoning ordinance. He stated:

When built up Troy will have about 133,000 people, of which 17,960 will be school children. You will require 250 acres for schools, 145 acres for parks and recreation areas, 198 acres for shopping centers, and 1,872 acres for industry. While you are yet in a state of open, rolling land without too much built-up area, you must plan this gigantic growth or you will end up like Detroit, unable to find land for schools, parks and even industry. . .  Under this ordinance and your planning for the future, we are hoping to take the long view and avoid the mistakes others have made.

Following approval of the ordinance in 1957 three local newspapers published copies of an editorial praising Troy for having the foresight to plan for the future.

Compare their predictions with statistics from 2015 graciously provided by Nino Licari, the Assessor for the City of Troy:

To commemorate the City of Troy’s 60th Anniversary in 2015, we will publish a different story each day that highlights a person, discovery, or event that occurred locally, regionally, nationally, or even globally between 1955 and 2015 and that helped shape our lives and our community. We will try to post stories on important anniversary dates, but we also realize that dates are less critical than content and context. We will include the facts related to controversial stories, allowing our readers to form their own opinions. We invite you to read and comment on the stories. Your suggestions for topics are also welcome and can be posted on our Facebook page, www.troyhistoricvillage/facebook. You can also email stories or ideas to the 365 Story Editor at ed@thvmail.org.