Take a look at this column from the Gary Post-Tribune.

This Indiana city has had casinos since the 1990s, and yet they haven’t really brought the economic development that was promised, this writer believes.

“The Gary casinos haven’t been a complete flop. They have provided jobs and tax revenue of up to $25 million a year to the city,” he writes. “But, the economic development hasn’t followed.”

And keep in mind…Gary is just a short drive from the metropolis of Chicago. And one of those casinos had the Trump name on it, according to the story.

Rust Wire readers know that Detroit frequently makes headlines for all the wrong reasons – crime, corruption, poverty, the list of negatives is long.
But this story from the Dallas Observer lavishes praise on at least one aspect of The Motor City — its farmers’ market, Eastern Market.
Having been to farmers’ markets across the Midwest, I can say that Detroit Eastern Market is unparalleled — it basically encompasses a whole neighborhood and is full of bustling market stalls, shops and restaurants.
The Observer article is bemoaning the state of farmers’ markets in …

Plain Dealer editorial writer Sharon Broussard was treading on familiar ground when she offered this piece of advice to Cleveland Public Schools Eugene Sanders Sunday:
“Don’t be afraid to blow up the current system and come up with really radical ways to create new schools that work and that can gain community support.”
Did you hear that? That was me groaning.
Plain Dealer writers frequently offer this kind of advice, always directed at Mr. Sanders personally. Because if only he would “come up with really radical new ways to create news schools that …

I’m going to borrow an idea from this Cleveland Scene article, which asked a number of Clevelanders what they hoped for in 2010 for their city.
Among the responses: safer streets for walkers and cyclists, more neighborhood gardens, more tourists, a sports championship and many more goals.
What do you hope for your city in the coming year?
-KG
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Check out this recent column by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Brian O’Neill.

He interviews ‘burgh native Don Carter, who recently retired president of Urban Design Associates and was named director of the Remaking Cities Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

For years, Carter tells O’Neill, he has hated the term “Rust Belt.” And he’s trying to get folks to start calling …the “Water Belt.”

In place of “Sun Belt?” Try “Drought Belt.” Cities here, Carter writes, “are low-density, auto-dependent, and survive on ever diminishing supplies of

As strange as it sounds, it can happen, according to this recent story in the Pittsburgh City Paper.
“Even today, Cranberry retains some rugged rural terrain amidst the strip malls and drive-throughs. Cranberry may be a synonym for “suburban sprawl” for many, but local officials are trying to preserve those places — and environmentalists give them high marks for the effort.
Still, finding a connection with nature is a lot like my coyote encounter: If you blink, you may miss it,” the author writes.
What did the Pittsburgh-area suburb of Cranberry do? …

We at Rust Wire have certainly done our share of beating up on Forbes Magazine on this blog.
But here’s an interesting editorial by Aaron Renn on the “mayor as CEO” idea, and the importance of a city’s strategy and “brand.”
And before you tell me, “We’ve heard a million times already how cities should be run more efficiently and business-like,” just read the piece. This isn’t the usual “lessons cities can learn from the private sector” story.
-KG
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Reading the Digging Pitt blog recently, I want to second their call to have Pittsburgh (or any other Rust Belt city, for that matter) host a Jane’s Walk – a neighborhood walk in the spirit of urban thinker Jane Jacobs.
A number of other cities have done this and Pittsburgh – or Cleveland, Toledo, Buffalo, etc. – should all jump on the bandwagon.
Volunteer guides lead tours of various neighborhoods. From Digging Pitt, “Some tours focus on heritage sites, while others explore the nooks and crannies of the city. From great hangouts …

This week I attended a conference called “Finding Common Ground” at the Gleaners building in East Detroit. I met some people at this event who seem very willing and excited to change Detroit in meaningful ways. There were two Dans: Pitera and Carmody of University Detroit Mercy’s Architecture program and Eastern Market respectively. Their presentations on the possibilities that exist in Detroit’s future spoke to me in ways I had not imagined. I also met several young people working with Southwest Solutions who were enthusiastic about their organization’s community development mission.

On Saturday I found myself in Detroit again. The Detroit Urban Craft Fair was a fine example of entrepreneurship in action.

It’s always terrible to hear about people losing their jobs — but it seems even worse in a bad recession and in a place like McKeesport, Pennsylvania.
Earlier this week, a call center that employed 600 – and had received considerable tax abatements from local governments – announced it would be shutting down.
You can read the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s coverage, or the excellent post by McKeesport blogger Jason Togyer.
I think some (like Togyer) would say this situation shows the folly of expecting low-wage, easily outsourceable service jobs to replace the manufacturing jobs …