Greater Lansing has an amazing music scene, but it is seldom heard about it outside a 100 mile or so radius from the State Capital. Probably the best known band to hail from this area is The Verve Pipe, with its memorable #1 hit single “The Freshman.” Frontier Ruckus, The Hard Lessons, and Autumn Lull (among others) have also made a decent amount of buzz outside of their Greater Lansing roots.

Recently, a new album entitled Ghost Town Lullabies was released by a Greater Lansing area alternative rock band called Elliot Street Lunatic. Ghost Town Lullabies is simply superb! I cannot give it a high enough rating – it is literally off the charts for those of us who like alternative rock or indie music.

Lots of people who care about cities have focused their energy on helping cities attract college graduates, as the college degree share of a region is highly correlated with how successful it is economically.
This report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland cautions that  ”too narrow a focus on the graduates can lead to misguided policies”
It continues:
“It is a summary statistic that can change for many reasons. One metro area could have a fast-rising share because it has a lot of universities graduating local students or attracting high-skilled immigrants. Another area …

More than 50 US cities are competing to win a $1 million prize if they increase their number of college-educated residents.
The Talent Dividend Prize will be awarded by CEOs for Cities to the metropolitan area that exhibits the greatest increase in the number of post-secondary degrees granted per capita over a three-year period, the organization announced recently.
Competing cities include: Akron, Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago; Cleveland, Dayton, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Rochester, St. Louis and Youngstown.
Read the complete list of competing cities and more details here. Is your city on the …

“Go Home Buckeyes,” was the caption in an article in The Charleston City Paper published this spring.

The command was wrapped around a brick in the photo. The subhead was “worthless nuts.”

“They have gelled hair, wear cargo shorts, vertical-lined shirts, and, if you’re really lucky, high black-and-white socks with tennis shoes,” says a “sixth generation Charlestonian.”

The article continues: “Each spring they attack the city, gumming pralines and Hyman’s hush puppy samples. Their legions are strong, and their numbers are growing. They’re called Ohioans.”

Angry Charlestonians have also created a website Gobacktoohio.com, according to the article.

Rust Wire is very excited to share this newly released, original documentary by our own contributor, graduate student and photographer Sean Posey.

The past three decades have erased much of the city of Youngstown that my father and grandfather knew: An area once known as ” the city of homes” became known for widespread arson; a city once indelibly linked with steel and manufacturing became known as the grave yard of the American steel industry. Youngstown, much like Detroit, went from being
a symbol of the American dream to being a worst case example of the “urban crisis” that has engulfed so many of this country’s inner
cities.

Yet, we should not overlook the fact that much has changed for good in the Steel Valley.

Portland. Seattle. Minneapolis. Besides being magnets for well-educated young people, what do these cities have in common?

According to Aaron Renn, creator of the Urbanophile blog, they all have a relatively low proportion of black people.

In an article published on New Geography, Renn asks, is the trend towards cities like Portland a form of nationwide suburban sprawl?

Is it only a coincidence that cities with a high proportion of black residents are so often the most maligned, like Detroit, Cleveland and Youngstown?

The Economist Magazine is running a cautiously optimistic story about the future of Youngstown, paying tribute to recent downtown developments and the success of the Youngstown Business Incubator.
“Youngstown’s problems have been manifold,” The magazine writes. “But now there are a few signs that things are starting to improve.”

“One example is the Youngstown Business Incubator, which provides cheap office space and other assistance to start-ups that specialize in business software.
“Founded using government seed money 14 years ago in a part of downtown where few dared to venture, let alone start a …

A common refrain heard in Buffalo, and much of the Rust Belt, is that you can’t appreciate the place until you’ve left it.

A crop of young Buffalonians have put this idea into practice in the past several years by combining an appreciation for their hometown with the innovative resources and ideas they’ve gained through education and experiences in the world outside the Queen City.

Megan McNally, a senior at Barnard College in New York, used a school grant to purchase a home (pictured above) on Buffalo’s blighted West Side. Picking up renovation tips from the non-profit

NPR ran a great piece yesterday about young people moving back to Detroit during this time of unparalled economic turmoil.
The story follows a Chicago banker who, lured by cheap real-estate, moved back, bought a building and opened a restaurant.
Also featured is a Cincinnati music producer who moved to Detroit because he always wanted his own studio and in Detroit the price was right.
Last is a Detroit-born lawyer who returned from New Jersey because he wanted to be part of the city’s revitalization.
This story made me cry. I wish everyone who has …

A new report (pdf), as reported by a number of Ohio’s news sources, predicts a depressing future for Ohio’s ability to attract and retain young people.
The worse news is that its not just out-of-state students who are down on the buckeye state; the report finds that 51% of Ohio natives don’t want to stay. Having spent the past four years as an undergraduate student at two of Northeast Ohio’s universities, I can honestly testify that these numbers seem quite reasonable and realistic.

Some people are questioning the survey’s methodology and suggesting …