Posted on 05/02/2007 10:35:06 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Hanging next to city planner Bill D'Avignon's desk is a giant map of this city, divided into neighborhoods. One is Oak Hill, a gritty enclave just south of downtown. The neighborhood, once densely populated, has lost 60% of its population in recent decades and is dotted with abandoned buildings and empty lots.
Faced with the devastation of Oak Hill and other depressed pockets of the city, Youngstown is trying an unusual approach: Allow such areas to keep emptying out and, in some cases, become almost rural. Unused streets and alleys eventually could be torn up and planted over, the city says. Abandoned buildings could be razed, leading to the creation of larger home lots with plenty of green space, and new parks.
Youngstown, a former steel-producing hub, has been losing residents for years as a result of the closing of most of its steel mills. But rather than struggle to regain its former glory or population, it has adopted an economic-development plan that boils down to controlled shrinkage. By accepting the inevitable, the city says it can reduce its housing stock, infrastructure and services accordingly.
The plan is still in its early stages. As a first step, Mr. D'Avignon and other city planners have divided Youngstown into 127 neighborhoods, and labeled them as stable, transitional or weak. Now they're working on a customized plan for each one, noting which corners need street signs, which sidewalks need to be repaired and which buildings need to be demolished. The goal is to craft plans for about 30 neighborhoods a year.
Another goal is to wipe away the most obvious blight. The city estimates it will take about four years to bulldoze the biggest eyesores, including about 1,000 abandoned homes and several hundred old stores, schools and other structures.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
New Orleans, are you listening?
When I was a girl, growing up in northern Ohio in the 50s, Akron, Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburg were bustling, prosperous cities. All pretty much gone now - thanks in large part to the unions which made the mills non-competitive with other countries.
They should have millions of tourists from smoker-friendly states arriving in droves to breathe their fresh, clean air! (NOT)
Pittsburgh is a bustling, prosperous city. Not sure about Akron but do know that the Mistake on the Lake is still a mistake.
As for Youngstown, 15 years ago there was not much to it other than dilapidated. You mean it has gotten worse?
Is this article in the print edition? Could you post more of it or at least maybe freep mail it to me. Interesting article to say the least.
I was familiar with it in the 50s - that's 50+ years ago. I haven't seen it since then, so don't know what it was like 15 years ago, other than what I've read, which proves my point. BTW, I was in Pittsburg with my late husband about 10 years ago to go to the ballpark - and it was a nice place with lots to do. Akron's dead; I went to college in Cleveland (Western Reserve University) during the 60s, when the Cuyahoga River used to catch on fire. Better now.
Sounds like a legacy of out-of-control unionism ... and unchecked Rats.
“Sounds like a legacy of out-of-control unionism ... and unchecked Rats.”
Probably, but what they are doing sounds smart. I guess the argument is how much the City should be involved. What keeps some places depressed is that the owners of the abandoned properties don’t have the resources to redevelop, nor can they sell it enough to pay off the note. So it is either bankruptcy or Tax money to “re fertilize” the area.
Yes, I think they’re doing the right thing. A novel and seemingly sensible approach. Free-market too, even if the city is involved.
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