From the Flint Journal via Flint Expatriates:
Former Genesee County Treasurer Daniel Kildee is pushing for reforms to allow local governments to sue property owners who don’t take care of their homes- the proposed system would allow the Genesee County Landbank to recover costs of cleaning and fixing up homes, according to Flint Expatriates.
I’m curious to see if this idea goes further. A few years ago, when I was writing stories about vacant properties in Lorain, Ohio, Kildee’s Genesee County Landbank was often cited as a model other cities should copy.
Kildee …

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland yesterday signed legislation that will make it easier for cities to take control of vacant and abandoned properties.
The land bank legislation was championed by Cuyahoga County officials and urban policy advocates alike. It will allow county governments to establish land banks to clear the title to foreclosed homes and begin the process of returning the property to productive use.
Many Ohio Cities have long operated their own land banks. However, without a strong legal framework, local efforts have been challenging.
The state law is modeled after a program …

I have recently returned to Cleveland after several years in the “Capitol of the Midwest,” Chicago. Chicago is filled with Midwesterners from all corners, and those who have committed to living there have a mixture of disdain, pity, and guilty longing for the places they left behind. The opinion they expressed was that leaving Chicago for a smaller Midwestern city would stifle career ambitions and deprive one of big city amenities. All they saw outside Chicagoland was corn fields and closed factories. In a discussion of urban development, one economist (originally from upstate NY) asserted, “Detroit and Cleveland no longer have an economic reason for being.” When I told people in Chicago that I planned to return to Cleveland, most looked dejected and some said, “I’m sorry.”

Can “branding” a city through a snappy slogan and slick marketing campaign work?
A lot of cities apparently think so, including Dayton and Cleveland, as outlined in this USA Today story.
They point to successful and memorable slogans, like “I love New York,” and “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.” It’s also interesting to read the comments under the story- on mentions great success North Dakota has had marketing itself as a “Wild West” destination for bicyclists.
The story doesn’t mention less-successful campaigns. (I’m thinking of the Michael Moore movie Roger & …

Dayne Walling, the former Rhodes Scholar, has done it. He won the special mayoral election in Flint with more than 60% of the vote.

I like this guy. He’s ambitious. He’s got his work cut out for him. Never underestimate the power of good leadership.
-AS

more about “Video: Flint’s New Mayor“, posted with vodpod

Los Angeles-based photographer David Zaitz took a six day road trip through the Rust Belt in July 2009.  Zaitz drove over 1,900 miles in seven days, visiting legendary Rust Belt cities such as Gary, South Bend, Elkhardt, Youngstown, Wheeling, Canton, Akron, Detroit and Flint.

Zaitz will be posting additional images and commentary from his trip in the coming weeks.
A selection of his photographic essay can be seen here.

Slate is running an awesome, awesome, story about the mayoral race in Flint, Michigan, where a 35-year-old Rhodes Scholar is battling a 64-year-old grandmother and state representative for the city’s highest office.

Why would anyone want to be mayor of a city with so many problems, Slate wonders.

This Associated Press story highlights the problem of fire - by arson or by accident - in vacant homes, increasing as does the foreclosure crisis.
It focuses on the sad story of one homeless man squatting in one vacant home in Flint.
-KG

This Slate piece was written by a Flint native returning to his hometown in search of affordable housing, driven out of San Fransisco by obscenly high housing costs.
It’s an interesting and well-written story.
Thanks to Rust Wire reader Claudia Raleigh for bringing it to my attention.
-KG

Since meeting with approval from the Ohio General Assembly in December, the new Cuyahoga County Landbank has spurred some creative rethinking for landuse in Cleveland.

Among the proposals: