Next American City is carrying a very interesting story about Cleveland’s battle to return vacant land to productive use.

A collection of foundations, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private citizens are collaborating to return agriculture to the city. What’s unique about Cleveland’s efforts, however, is the level or coordination and the overarching vision for a greener, more cohesive neighborhoods, according to the article.

The process has been dubbed, Reimagining a More Sustainable Cleveland and it has the support of the mayor, the state government and a handfull of well endowed foundations.

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.

USA Today is carrying an article about Declaration Detroit, an online campaign by a group of activists to revitalize the city.
The group has published a manifesto based on 12 principles, in graphic form below:

The group is asking visitors to sign a pledge to support these policies and get involved by helping spread the word. About 2,100 people have signed, according to USA Today.
-AS

Greater Ohio and the Brookings Institutional have released their long-awaited report, Restoring Prosperity: Transforming Ohio’s Communities for the Next Economy.
Among the findings, Ohio should consolidate local governments and school districts to reduce the local tax burden. The state should redirect manufacturing strength toward new technologies and maximize federal investment.
To compete, Ohio will need to reinvest in its metropolitan regions, which account for 81 percent of the state’s population and 87 percent of its GDP, the report states.
“Ohio’s seven largest metro areas concentrate slightly more than 75 percent of the state’s …

The city of Cleveland’s residential tax abatement program has been a boon for the city, according to a study by researchers at Cleveland State University.

A series of tax abatements for new home construction and rehabilitation begun in 1987, jumpstarted new home construction in the city from a virtual standstill in the city. About 3,000 homes were built under the program, or 3.5 percent of the total housing stock in Cleveland. Including rehabilitations, about 5.7 percent, more than one in twenty homes, have been built or improved using tax abatements. This compared to 1980-83, when fewer than 20 new homes were built in the city each year.

That’s Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and our friend Stacy Jurich reminding everyone to shop local this holiday season to help stimulate their local economy.
It’s a good message for any of our cities and a way everyone can contribute to economic recovery. Toledo is lucky to have a group like this!
-AS

Ohio voters recently passed a constitutional amendment that will allow for the construction of four casinos in the state for the first time.

One will be located in each Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
Ohio voters have turned down ballot initiatives like this one before. But it seems this time the need for jobs and the pervasiveness of casino gambling in neighbor states helped sway the electorate.
Anyway, there’s been a lot of debate over whether this will ultimately be good or bad. I thought it would be interesting to hear from other …

Are African American males our greatest untapped resource?

The answer is yes, according to a study by Policy Bridge, Cleveland-based, minority-focused think tank.

“No single resource in Northeast Ohio is as underutilized as African-American males,” reports the agency in its study, Untapped Potential, African-American Males in Northeast Ohio.

• In Cleveland, roughly 65 percent of all males living in poverty are
African-American.

• Roughly a third of African-American men in

   Cleveland’s Eaton Corporation is asking the Cuyahoga County Port Authority to loan it $170 million so it can move its corporate headquarters from downtown Cleveland to move to suburban Chagrin Highlands, The Plain Dealer is reporting.
   The industrial manufacturing giant received $71 million in tax breaks from the state of Ohio in October for the move, which the company says is necessary to provide room for growth. The state provided the funds after Eaton threatened to move to another state.
   The port authority is expected to approve the loan …

Boy, this is so depressing, I can hardly bring myself to write it. Dayton’s sole remaining Fortune 500 company, which has been headquartered in the city for 125 years, is moving operations to Atlanta.
NCR, a manufacturer of ATM machines and cash registers, will bring some 2,000 jobs to Atlanta. The company was offered $60 million in tax breaks by the state of Georgia, The Dayton Daily News reports. Ohio attempted a counter offer of $31 million, to which CEO Bill Nuti responded “It pales in comparison to what Georgia is …