Christmas comes early for city of Youngstown

The New York Times Magazine called it "Creative Shrinkage," while Governing magazine labeled it "Smart Decline." And Old House Journal took positive note of one aspect of it.
The it that has grabbed the attention of national publications is the philosophy underlying "Youngstown 2010," the city's much-heralded and discussed blueprint for the future. The philosophy can be summed up thus: Smaller can be better.
As the articles reveal, the decision by Youngstown stakeholders to take a realistic view of where the city is today and where it should be in four years has become a national story.
Christmas has come early for the city of Youngstown -- in the form of positive national press.
"If Youngstown has made peace with its smaller self, however, its policy makers are still grappling with the key question: What does it mean to manage shrinkage in an intelligent way? Volumes have been written about how to implement 'smart growth.' But what about smart decline? Youngstown may emerge as something of a national laboratory for ideas on how to cope with urban contraction."
So wrote Christopher Swope, Governing associate editor, after a recent visit to the city.
In the New York Times article, Youngstown 2010 was explained this way:
"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."
The piece was written by Belinda Lanks.
One important element of Youngstown 2010, which Mayor Jay Williams helped develop when he was director of the city's Community Development Agency and which he pledged to implement when he was running for mayor, is the preservation of the city's assets.
Crandall Park area
One of those assets received high praise from Old House Journal, which concentrates on the preservation and restoration of historic houses: the Crandall Park area.
The magazine has listed the area on the North Side as the nation's most affordable historic district.
It wrote that houses in the Crandall Park district sell for about 110,000 each, whereas homes in the historic district in San Jose, Calif., sell for 800,000.
Williams, who surprised the political world by running as an independent candidate and defeating such political notables as state Sen. Robert F. Hagan, a Democrat, separated himself from the field by clearly articulating his vision for Youngstown. Voters obviously were swayed by his contention that the city must deal with the reality of its declining population, its eroding tax base and its deteriorating neighborhoods.
The mayoral candidate talked about shrinking the geographic size of Youngstown to better accommodate the smaller population and then taking the vacant land and creating green space.
Williams is completing his first year in office and much of his time has been spent dealing with the numerous problems, such as crime, that have plagued the city for years. But that does not mean Youngstown 2010 has been ignored. Action is being taken to launch some initiatives and it's only a matter of time before the changes the mayor has talked about become a reality.
After all, it is a national story.