Yes. Eventually all cities will become more walkable, have better job opportunities, and gentrify.

As people move around they bring with them their experiences and are vocal about making positive changes. Springfield already has come a long way from the 80s and 90s.

In my experience it's all about walking and biking. If a city doesn't feel welcoming to people and only caters to cars it will not be successful. People in cars pass by quickly and don't interact with the city. Pedestrians walking and biking often stop to check storefronts out, get coffee and food. The more walkable a city is the faster it gentrifies and cleans up to be more modern.

Springfield is walkable and partly bikeable, but it's still cut off from the surrounding areas. It's hard to get to it on foot from other towns, often you have to walk on the side of a highway or a strode which makes a pedestrian feel like they're going to die.

The fact that the I91 cut the city off the waterfront also hurt it badly, but luckily they are starting to realize the importance of the waterfront and are slowly allowing more access to it like the new park, unfortunately walking to the new park is still sort of difficult.