11 Comeback Cities for 2011

Downtown Flint, Michigan.

Kiplinger -- "Hundreds of cities across the country were hammered by the recession, many experiencing double-digit declines in employment, throwing thousands of their residents out of work.

For some particularly hard-hit metro areas, 2011 will bring a dramatic turnaround -- new investment by businesses, growth in the number of jobs and a reblooming of hope.

Recovering all the ground they lost will take years and many of the cities are still suffering with unemployment that exceeds the national average. But these cities are enjoying a surprising and welcome upward bounce."

MP: The list includes Flint, Michigan, which is experiencing an impressive revitalization of the downtown area (see photo above), and is in the process of re-inventing itself with the slogan "From a Factory Town to a College Town" (Flint has about 30,000 college students at four different schools: University of Michigan-Flint, Kettering University, Baker College and Mott Community College).