Last One in Youngstown, Ohio, Turn Out the Lights

Believe it or not, that headline was similar to one posted on a billboard back in 1971 in Seattle, which was commissioned by two Seattle real estate agents who were fed up with the pessimism surrounding the Boeing Bust. Nowadays — thankfully — Seattle is not tethered to one company to provide an economic life support system.

(Photo by Les Christie courtesy CNNMoney)

The same cannot be said of Youngstown, Ohio. When the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company closed its doors in 1977, it was the beginning of the end for the industrial-based city and began a downward slide for its citizens. The city went from population of 165,000 to approximately 80,000. Businesses were shuttered, development stopped on planned communities and houses sat vacant, as drugs, prostitution, and seediness began taking root. City plans in the mid-70′s called for the population to grow to 200-250K, but just the opposite happened. Rather than sit and wait for a miracle to happen, Youngstown unveiled “Youngstown 2010,” which is a plan to embrace its downsized population and become a socially and financially sustainable mid-size city of 80K. To achieve that goal, Youngstown must:

• Promote health care as a new economic power and encourage health care workers to live in Youngstown.
• Embrace Youngstown State University faculty and students and encourage them to live in Youngstown, keep the students in the area upon graduation and link the university with the local economy.
• Retain and attract county, state, and federal offices.
• Create an attractive arts and entertainment sector.

There’s much more, but beyond these obvious goals, the city is also doing something radical with local real estate: It is razing thinly populated blocks, according to an article in CNNMoney. If only a few homes remain occupied within a certain radius, the city is offering up to $50,000 in grants for the owners to move. When they do, the city bulldozes the homes in the area and creates parks and green spaces. This move also saves on garbage pickup, snowplowing, street lighting, and other public service costs. So far, 1,000 homes have been razed.

It is a radical idea and one that I hope succeeds since it’s hard to watch your hometown shrink and die away like I saw with my hometown of Amsterdam, NY. More power to you, Youngstown! We would love to see it work out.