Opportunities for Legacy Cities: Transforming Ohio’s Cities and Neighborhoods

Opportunities for Legacy Cities: Transforming Ohio’s Cities and Neighborhoods

Alison D. GoebelAssociate DirectorGreater Ohio Policy Center

About Greater Ohio Policy CenterA outcome-oriented statewide non-profit that champions revitalization and sustainable redevelopment in Ohio:

•Revitalize Ohio’s urban cores and metropolitan regions

•Achieve sustainable land reuse and economic growth

Why Do Cities Matter

Ohio’s metros are the economic drivers of our state and the key engines are our urban cores.

Clockwise: Piqua; Mansfield; Cincinnati

Defining Legacy Cities

Changes Impacting Legacy Cities

• Suburbanization• Regional migration• Loss of central

functions• Deindustrialization• Job loss

• Unemployment• Impoverishment • Weak market

demand• Physical decline• Vacancy and

abandonment• Fiscal incapacity• Deteriorating public

services

Several Challenges

There has been overall population loss in Ohio’s large legacy cities

And population loss in Ohio’s smaller legacy cities

Millennials have the potential to change the equation in Ohio’s larger cities

And in Ohio’s smaller legacy cities

Nationally, legacy city population growth is largely driven by millennials

Opportunities to leverage and attract residents

• Some legacy cities are attracting increasing numbers of Millennials

• Ohio’s cities will need to do more to attract this population in order to compete

• What still needs to be done?

What can we learn from cities that are rebounding faster?

Photos clockwise: Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cincinnati

Guiding Principle:Strategic Incrementalism

Piqua, Ohio from growpiquanow.org

“Strategic incrementalism begins with leaders sharing a vision of the city’s future and then making incremental, tactical decisions that will transform the status quo, while avoiding grandiose and unrealistic plans.”

Leverage assets: strategies that are making an impact

Target resources in viable neighborhoods

Focus on rebuilding the downtown

Leverage economic assets to build competitive advantages

Repurpose vacant land for new uses

Target Resources in Viable Neighborhoods: Maximize impact of available scarce resources

Over-the-RhineCincinnati, Ohio

Slavic VillageCleveland, OhioGreen and Gold Asset and Place-

Based Investment StrategyDayton, Ohio

Focus on rebuilding the downtown

Washington Avenue

Downtown St Louis, MO

Support downtown living and leisure

Downtown Living in Marion, OhioPhoto from http://www.loisfisher.com/lofts.htm

Leverage economic assets to build competitive advantages

Colleges and universitiesHospitals and medical

centersManufacturing

companiesDowntown employment

baseArts, cultural, and

entertainment facilities and activities

Springfield Regional MedicalFrom http://www.community-mercy.org/springfield_regional_medical_center.asp

Re-purpose vacant land for new uses

- Alternative/green uses- Brownfields to

productive reuses- Land banks hold

properties and clear delinquent taxes, liens

Critical Challenges to the Ability of Legacy Cities to sustainably rebound

Equity

Adequately leveraging the region

Rising legacy costs, declining tax base

Aging infrastructure

Encouraging state policy tools

Brownfields Clean up fund (grants/loans)

Land banks

Expedited foreclosure

New Market Tax Credits/State historic tax credits

Third Frontier

Critical Next Strategies: Strategic Incrementalism for Ohio’s legacy cities

Look beyond jurisdictional boundaries maximize resources and identify new markets

Create multi-faceted public/private partnerships capable of driving sustained regeneration

Build effective ties between cities and their regions to foster stronger economic growth for both

Critical Next Strategies: Strategic Incrementalism for Ohio’s legacy cities

Requires a coherent vision of the future. Clear long-term goals grounded in small, but achievable steps

Small, medium, and large sized cities have unique assets that appeal to new generations

Be creative in identifying assets in your community and leverage them

Contact information

Alison D. Goebel, Associate DirectorGreater Ohio Policy Center

agoebel@greaterohio.org@alisongoebelOH

www.greaterohio.org@greaterohio614-224-0187