Let's Save Michigan

May 21, 2010

What We Can Learn From Youngstown

Where once was an abandonned home in Flint is now a community garden.

At first glance, you might not think to compare Youngstown, Ohio to our state’s largest city, Detroit.  After all, it’s about a quarter of the size, the population is not as diverse and Youngstown isn’t home to any national sports teams.

But Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams believes "You can take ‘Youngstown’ out and plug in ‘Detroit.’ You can take out 'steel' and plug in 'cars.'"

The Detroit-focused online magazine Model D published a report in early May on the glaring similarities between the two cities:

 “Both cities face very real and very similar problems. A single industry powered each city's rise, and each has seen that industry decline dramatically. Both have seen their populations shrink while vacancies increase. Both are dealing with tough revenue, crime and school issues.”

Fed up with the direction the city was heading in 2002, the Youngstown city council took to the streets and convened a large community meeting. That meeting built the momentum to hold smaller meetings in each of the city’s neighborhoods about what to do with Youngstown’s blight and challenges. City officials emerged from the meetings with four primary tenets: Youngstown as a smaller city; define Youngstown's role in the new regional economy; improve Youngstown's image and enhance quality of life; and put out a call to action. This laid the groundwork for Youngstown 2010.

“Youngstown's efforts to right size — guided by the 2010 plan —  have been less about relocation and more about accepting the city's smaller size, prioritizing funds, diversifying the economy, adopting smarter land use and sustainable planning practices, and thinking ahead,” Terry Parris Jr. wrote in the Model D article.

Of course Youngstown's lessons aren't just for Detroit. There has been a lot of chatter from city governments around Michigan about consolidating, but especially in places like Detroit and Flint.

Just last week Detroit Mayor Dave Bing kicked off a downsizing discussion with 16 local leaders.

Aside from their struggles, some of Michigan's cities and Youngstown have some positives in common. They share a low barrier of entry for businesses. In August 2009, Entrepreneur Magazine listed Youngstown in the top 10 business startup-friendly cities. As for Detroit, Phillip Cooley’s story could inspire any young entrepreneur. 

“Both have deeply passionate people working to improve their cities at all costs,” Parris wrote.

A Glance at Youngtown and Detroit