Growing pains, shrinking gains

A couple of months ago, the NY Times was singing Madison's praises as "the new Berkeley" , but yesterday's front-page story describes some of the less desirable aspects of Madison's growth, as "thousands of young professionals, retirees and former suburbanites have moved to glistening condominium buildings in the shadow of the state Capitol’s dome and only a few blocks from the University of Wisconsin’s main campus." The key issue is perceived to be concentration of population in the small downtown area, and its large population of bars. The state government is seeking to decrease the number of bars by changing licensing laws.

An article about downsizing of another sort was in the NY Times Magazine a few weeks ago. The city of Youngstown, Ohio is purposefully downsizing itself to match its current inhabitants, now half of the 170,000 people who lived there when the steel industry reigned. A creative approach, and I hope it works there and elsewhere. Short article is below:

December 10, 2006

THE 6th ANNUAL YEAR IN IDEAS; Creative Shrinkage

By BELINDA LANKS

For decades, depopulated Rust Belt cities have tried to grow their way back to prosperity. Youngstown, Ohio, has a new approach: shrinking its way into a new identity.

At its peak, Youngstown supported 170,000 residents. Now, with less than half that number living amid shuttered steel factories, the city and Youngstown State University are implementing a blueprint for a smaller town that retains the best features of the metropolis Youngstown used to be. Few communities of 80,000 boast a symphony orchestra, two respected art museums, a university, a generously laid-out downtown and an urban park larger than Central Park. ''Other cities that were never the center of steel production don't have these assets,'' says Jay Williams, the city's newly elected 35-year-old mayor, who advocated a downsized Youngstown when he ran for office.

Williams's strategy calls for razing derelict buildings, eventually cutting off the sewage and electric services to fully abandoned tracts of the city and transforming vacant lots into pocket parks. The city and county are now turning abandoned lots over to neighboring landowners and excusing back taxes on the land, provided that they act as stewards of the open spaces. The city has also placed a moratorium on the (often haphazard) construction of new dwellings financed by low-income-housing tax credits and encouraged the rehabilitation of existing homes. Instead of trying to recapture its industrial past, Youngstown hopes to capitalize on its high vacancy rates and underused public spaces; it could become a culturally rich bedroom community serving Cleveland and Pittsburgh, both of which are 70 miles away.

Youngstown's experiment has not gone unnoticed. Williams's office has already fielded calls from officials in a few of the many American metropolitan areas that have experienced steep population drop-offs. When cities hit rock bottom, it seems, planners can find new solutions for urban decay -- if they are willing to think small enough. BELINDA LANKS