My old hometown, Fort Wayne, is the second largest city in Indiana. Its population is around 250,000 (and MSA about 400,000), second only to Indianapolis' 1 million urban population.
What could have made Fort Wayne a significantly larger city?
Would the downtown expressway (proposed in the 1950s, but killed off) have helped it grow? Interstate 69 passes by Fort Wayne, and the city is ringed by I-469. Would there be more interstate highway access into/around Fort Wayne if the city was enlarged?
What would the downtown look like now? (In recent years, downtown has been revitalizing, with more residential, retail, and other developments going on, triggered by the new minor-league baseball stadium.)
In a significantly larger Fort Wayne, would its airport have enlarged, and in turn, been able to provide more air service? As it stands now, Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA)--I know, a joke of a name--is quite small, with only 8 gates in an architecturally uninspiring terminal (4 upstairs with jetties, 4 downstairs on the ramp). It is now served a few flights a day by the regional affiliates of American, Delta, and United (all using Barbie jets), and the holidaymaker airline Allegiant Air, so flight options are few and thus not very flexible compared with even Indianapolis. Would a larger FWA be possible?
What about business, industry, etc?
And would housing prices be higher than they are now? Fort Wayne is listed as one of the cheapest places to live.
Is there anything that could enlarge Fort Wayne (either in the past, or in the future)?