Photo from Model D Media
“Here in Youngstown. Here in Youngstown. My sweet Jenny I’m sinking down. Here darlin’ in Youngstown.” Bruce Springsteen’s folk ballad Youngstown describes the rise and fall of the rust belt city that sits on the Mahoning River, from the discovery of iron ore in the early 19th century to the decline of the steel industry in the 1970s. Typical of his heartland rock style, Springsteen laments about fall of the working class and the destruction of the American dream.
Springsteen’s tale is one that Youngstowners are all-too familiar with. Since the decline of the steel industry, the city’s population dropped from 140,000 in 1970 to a meager 65,000 in 2012. As a result of the sudden economic downturn, crime and poverty rose dramatically. During this period of severe decline, Youngstown gained some unflattering nicknames, like “Murdertown, USA” and “the armpit of Ohio.” In many ways, it appeared that The Boss may have been right: the city was “sinking down.”
But despite its deteriorating reputation, Youngstown has refused to give up. The rapidly shrinking population forced the Youngstown municipal government to innovate. Such severe problems require unique solutions; in 2005, the city partnered with Youngstown State University to create its “Youngstown 2010” plan, which called for a safer, cleaner, and smaller Youngstown. The main component of Youngstown 2010 is simple: downsizing the city’s infrastructure to match its declining population. Youngstown has decided to fully embrace the model of the shrinking city, and so far, the results have been positive.
Dilapidated houses are being torn down left and right to make room for green space and urban gardens, as abandoned buildings promote more crime. Youngstown has accepted that its population will continue to shrink, and the Youngstown 2010 plan is setting out to fight the negative symptoms that are associated with this dramatic population drop. The plan offers a clear and comprehensive vision of the future land-use within the city of Youngstown.
Land use is very important for the redevelopment of a shrinking city, but it is not the only component of the Youngstown 2010 plan. The plan also calls for diversifying the economy, which used to be almost entirely based on manufacturing. Tax incentive programs have helped attract and preserve investment throughout the city. In the years since the plan was proposed, many major new investments have been made in Youngstown, with numerous successful new businesses being built from the Youngstown Business Incubator.
From technology to manufacturing, Youngstown is showing signs of a rebound. Turning Technologies, a homegrown tech company that makes audience response systems, continues to expand rapidly in its offices next to the Youngstown Business Incubator. In 2007, it was named America’s fastest growing private technology company by Inc. Magazine. Even the steel industry is rebounding in the Mahoning Valley. Vallourec Star, an international steel company based in France, invested over $1 billion in Youngstown where it has built a state-of-the-art steel pipe mill.
Even while Youngstown’s population continues to shrink, its investments are growing. Downtown has been transformed from a ghost town to a vibrant location for restaurants, bars, and other businesses. Students at Youngstown State University can now walk downtown and see a show at the Rust Belt Theater Company, hang out with friends at thehttp://www.lemongrovecafe.com/http://www.lemongrovecafe.com/, and enjoy a beer from the Rust Belt Brewing Company at any of the new bars downtown. The interest in downtown has even led to the conversion of office space into apartments. For the first time in years, downtown is feeling like a true neighborhood.
Youngstown still has a lot of work to do in order to truly recover from its economic downturn, but the Youngstown 2010 plan has helped the city take some major steps toward recovery. Despite its problems, the future is looking bright for this small rust belt city. In 2009, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Youngstown as one of the 10 best cities in which to start a business, and in 2012 Forbes Magazine ranked Youngstown one of the 10 best cities to raise a family in. Most recently, during his State of the Union Address, President Obama mentioned Youngstown’s potential future as the epicenter of the coming 3D-printing revolution. With news like that, maybe it’s about time for Bruce Springsteen to write a new song about Youngstown.
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Ethan Lawson is a CEOs for Cities Summer Success Fellow. Ethan is a senior at Baldwin Wallace University, majoring in political science and history with a minor in urban studies. He has also spent time studying at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa, while also volunteering for the SHAWCO program, which provides education for low-income children in the greater Cape Town area. He plans on pursuing a graduate degree in Urban & Regional Planning after graduating in 2014.