Youngstown, Ohio.
When you first hear of that city, what comes to your mind? Run-down neighborhoods? Abandoned steel mills? Crime?
When I think of Youngstown, Ohio, the first word that pops into my mind is "hope." Youngstown is famous for once being a steel-fueled city, but is more recently known for its high crime rates and poor infrastructure. This downfall can be attributed to steel mill shutdowns, the mass loss of jobs, and the subsequent relocation of many of the city's former inhabitants. These factors caused the city of Youngstown to collapse, although not completely.
In recent years a new wave of redevelopment and revitalization has flooded the city. New businesses are being added downtown and the plans for an outdoor amphitheater are in the works. Run-down neighborhoods are even being torn down in order to make way for a possible Chill-Can factory. With the addition of all of these new businesses and projects also creates a plethora of jobs in the Mahoning Valley, which we are in desperate need of.
As I walk downtown for my morning coffee at Joe Max or Friends, there is a sense of vitality wafting through the streets as I pass by old buildings getting updated and new commercial space under construction. Friday and Saturday nights, Federal Street comes alive and is flooded with young college students visiting some of the bars or grabbing something to eat. If you look back a decade or so ago, downtown Youngstown would look nothing like it does now.
Although, with the addition of these new businesses, also comes with some conflicts. For instance, an entrepreneur wants to bring a Chill-Can factory to the city, but needs property to do so. The city has thus selected run-down neighborhoods to tear down. The residents of these particular neighborhoods are subsequently unhappy but have to move regardless of their opinion on the matter. The city has appraised the current houses these residents are living in and will offer them that amount in order for them to find a new home. Residents are angry that they are being forced out of their homes that they have lived in for perhaps most of their lives.
All-in-all, revitalization comes with its pros and cons, but at the end of the day, the effects caused are for the greater good. Maybe one day Youngstown can be back to its old glory, but only time will tell.
