Rust Belt
Is 'Brain Drain' a Legitimate Problem?
According to analysts like Aaron Renn, the exodus of educated Millennials from what some perceive to be less-glamorous cities shouldn't signal impending doom. For one thing, brain drain might not be happening at all.
Buffalo Shakes Off Some Rust
Buffalo made its fortune in long-gone heavy industries such as steel. Now a new industrial revolution—in renewable energy—is bringing new life to the coldest, northernmost city of the American Rust Belt.
Youngstown: Another Downtown Revitalizes
Earning negative press as a put-America-back-to-work campaign stop, the Ohio city also suffered from reported connections to crime. Now private developers are working alongside Youngstown State to bring people back.
Artists Breathe New Life Into Pennsylvania Town
Long suffering Rust Belt woes and lacking the name recognition of a Pittsburgh or Detroit, York opened its doors to another overlooked group: artists. The results so far are impressive.
The Promise of Renewal in Massachusetts Gateway Cities
Massachusetts is funding a placemaking initiative to renew its old industrial gateway cities. Available funds are only $16 million, but there's a plan to make the money go a long way.
Touring Buffalo's Neglected East Side
Recent investment in Buffalo, New York has been celebrated in the press and the city as a renaissance after decades of decline. But rising tides don't always lift all boats. A recent article describes a unique effort to call attention to the divide.
What 'Rust Belt Chic' Shows about the Complexity of Cities
Belt Magazine is publishing the second edition of its "Rust Belt Chic: The Cleveland Anthology" next month. The edition's new introduction sums up will the complicated issue of Cleveland's renaissance.
Decline or Dispersal? Standardizing the Size of American Cities
Ben Schulman and Xiaoran Li lead an interesting thought experiment about the populations of cities around the country. That is, what would happen to the population of American cities if all their sizes were standardized?
Shrinking Cities Seek to Shrink Streets
In Rust Belt cities like Flint, Michigan, a loss of population translates to less cars on oversized streets. Angie Schmitt examines how Flint, and other cities like it, are trying to right-size their transportation infrastructure.
Can a Dollar and a Dream Bring Back Gary, Indiana?
Just south of Chicago, the city of Gary is suffering from post-industrial blight, decaying infrastructure, and declining finances - an all too common trajectory in the Rust Belt. A program selling vacant homes for $1 hopes to stabilize neighborhoods.
Ohio Cities Dust Off the Rust
In a feature for the Architect's Newspaper, Christopher Bentley looks at efforts by Ohio's three largest cities to revitalize their urban cores, and the challenges they face.
Manufacturing Makes a Comeback
A new report from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program documents the rise in manufacturing employment during the recovery. Motoko Rich parses the findings, their geographical implications, and whether a long-term turnaround is in the cards.
In Battle Between Oldtimers and Newcomers, Which Side Are You On?
Richey Piiparinen examines the two, often antagonistic, worlds that he straddles as a mid-30′s native Rust Belt romantic, and finds fellowship with those in other legacy cities.
Buffalo Poised for Success, Says Planner
Buffalo, NY urban planner Chris Hawley is excited about the possibilities for his city, explaining that the Rust Belt infrastructure already in place gives Buffalo a leg up over cities built later in history.
The Art of Abandonment
Artists are using the vacant buildings of the Rust Belt to create their art, and to comment on possibilities and visions for the future.
The Problem with Boosterism
Urban-boosters in Cleveland and other Rust Belt locales are fierce defenders of their much-maligned cities. But does civic boosterism gloss over the region's very real problems? Worse, does it serve to protect the dysfunctional status quo?
Rust Belt Chic
Struggling cities in the Rust Belt are actually luring a new surge of younger populations, according to this piece from Governing.
Retirement in the Rust Belt
Struggling Rust Belt cities could be the smart move for retirees, according to this article.
A Symbol of Revitalization For a Post-Industrial City
A new center on the campus of Syracuse University is meant to highlight the Rust Belt city's potential -- and to inspire its revitalization.
A Self-Sustaining Urban Fish Farm
The Massachusetts Avenue Project in Buffalo's West Side is an urban fish farm designed to be a completely self-sustaining ecosystem, with food for the fish grown on the premises.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Santa Clarita
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
