Cities, space centers, museums fight for retired shuttle

States bid for space shuttle orbiterSTORY HIGHLIGHTSSeveral sites are vying to be the final homes of the retiring space shuttlesThe shuttles Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis carry historic and economic valueNASA administrator Charlie Bolden will announce Tuesday where the shuttles will goApril 12 marks the date of the first human space flight and, 20 years later, the first shuttle flight Kennedy Space Center, Florida (CNN) -- Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space -- the date was April 12, 1961. Twenty years later on April 12, astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen got on board the space shuttle Columbia, a craft that looked more like a plane that a rocket ship. It launched an entirely new era in space flight.

Now, on the anniversary of those two historic events, NASA is scheduled to announce where the retiring orbiters Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis will call home.

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden will make the announcement Tuesday during a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center commemorating that first flight of Columbia on April 12, 1981. NASA officials say the orbiter Atlantis, being readied for the final shuttle flight this summer, will be the backdrop for the announcement. Hundreds of center workers are expected to attend -- many of them will likely lose their jobs when the shuttle program ends.

Because the announcement is being made at Kennedy, the speculation is that the visitor center here will be awarded one of the shuttles. It is one of more than 20 locations around the country with collective fingers crossed.

The drama mirrors the bidding to host an Olympic games. In Texas, home of the Johnson Space Center, members of that state's delegation publicly lobbied for a shuttle. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Texas, said during a news conference, "No city in the world deserves an orbiter more than Houston, Texas."

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Museums, visitors centers vie for shuttles' last stops

The Associated Press

This image provided by the Adler Planetarium shows a proposal for a space shuttle exhibit in Chicago.

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This image provided by the Adler Planetarium shows a proposal for a space shuttle exhibit in Chicago.

Twenty-one museums and science and visitor centers around the country are vying for one of NASA

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Urban centers draw more young, educated adults

2007 photo by Lisa Poole, AP

About two-thirds of young adults who live in Boston's city center have at least a four-year degree.

EnlargeClose2007 photo by Lisa Poole, AP

About two-thirds of young adults who live in Boston's city center have at least a four-year degree.

In more than two-thirds of the nation's 51 largest cities, the young, college-educated population in the past decade grew twice as fast within 3 miles of the urban center as in the rest of the metropolitan area — up an average 26% compared with 13% in other parts.

Even in Detroit, where the population shrank by 25% since 2000, downtown added 2,000 young and educated residents during that time, up 59% , according to analysis of Census data by Impresa Inc., an economic consulting firm.

"This is a real glimmer of hope," says Carol Coletta, head of CEOs for Cities, a non-profit consortium of city leaders that commissioned the research. "Clearly, the next generation of Americans is looking for different kinds of lifestyles — walkable, art, culture, entertainment."

In Cleveland, which lost 17% of its population, downtown added 1,300 college-educated people ages 25 to 34, up 49%.

"It tells us we've been on the right track," says David Egner, president and CEO of Detroit's Hudson-Webber Foundation. Three anchor institutions —Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit Medical Center — recently launched "15 by 15," a campaign to bring 15,000 young, educated people to the downtown area by 2015.

Among the lures are cash incentives: a $25,000 forgivable loan to buy (need to stay at least five years) downtown or $3,500 on a two-year lease.

COLORADO: Urban areas outpace rural spotsREBUILDING: Parks take over downtown freewaysCENSUS 2010: Population, trends from your areaPreference for urban living among young adults — especially the well-educated — has increased sharply, data show:

•In 2000, young adults with a four-year degree were about 61% more likely to live in close-in urban neighborhoods than their less-educated counterparts. Now, they are about 94% more likely.

•In five metropolitan areas — Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Washington — about two-thirds of young adults who live in the city center have at least a four-year college degree. Less than a third of the nation's 25- to 34-year-olds do.

"This is no longer anecdotal," Coletta says. "Every metro area has good suburbs, but if you don't have a strong downtown and close-in neighborhoods, then you're not offering a choice that many of them are seeking. Offering that choice is a real competitive advantage for cities."

Young populations

Gain from 2000 to 2009 in 25- to 34-year-olds who have a four-year degree or higher and live within 3 miles of a metro area's central business district:

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