Great things are happening in Rust Belt cities. Not the mega-projects you might imagine, but rather an unsung, yet mighty, generation-based culture change.
Generation Xers and millennials are rejecting the silver bullet approach and are instead undertaking the unsexy, yet fruitful, hard work of adopting time-tested, incremental and collaborative methods for creating great places to live. Across sectors, we are restoring the powerful connections between people and place; past, present, and future.
Throughout the U.S., the whole paradigm for regional economic growth is falling apart. We are witnessing the end of big and impersonal: the faceless corporation, the unresponsive government and the amorphous, undifferentiated region.
The beating hearts of our regions
Place-based growth is currently on the upswing and Americans of all generations are beginning to long for the lost sense of place and local community that has been methodically destroyed since the late 1960s.
We are rejecting the notion that urban neighborhoods are obsolete places that should be left to die. Our central cities are not vestigial appendages that are no longer needed. They are the beating hearts of our regions. We don’t need euthanasia. We need a skilled team of cardiac surgeons.
Our cities have often gone astray, looking for that mega-project or that silver bullet — be it the “urban renewal” of the 1960s; the “edifice complex” of stadiums, convention centers and casinos; or the predestination theology of “smart decline.”
All of these approaches place far too much faith in the idea that big, top-down projects and plans are going to save us. It is the little projects that make the difference. These are the things that involve fundamentals, are easy to pull off, establish trust, inspire hope and build relationships.
A sledgehammer is a valuable tool, but not if you are trying to repair a watch. Our cities are far more akin to a living organism than they are to a machine. We must tailor our approach to healing them accordingly.
Embracing the paradox
The past is a tricky thing to navigate. You can’t be held captive by it, be paralyzed by it or preserve it in amber. On the other hand, you cannot cut yourself off from it, pretend it didn’t shape who you are or create an alternate reality to avoid it.
The trick is to embrace the past and have it inform, but not dictate, the future — to stand on the shoulders of giants in order to look forward. The future will belong to the cities that are able to do that — to be unashamed of the Rust Belt, and yet transcend it.
It is in our nature as humans to evolve and change. It is also in our nature to crave permanence and stability. That paradox is who we are. We are continually delighted by the seasons because they exemplify our simultaneous desire for change and permanence — ever changing, ever the same. That union of change and permanence is the rhythm of human life. Embodying and embracing that paradox is what creates great urban places.
As Director of Planning and Urban Development for the City of Akron, Jason Segedy is committed to working with public sector colleagues, the private sector, nonprofits and the citizens of Akron to make the city a better place to live, play and do business.
