Legacy Cities

An excerpt from "Supporting Shrinkage: Better Planning and Decision-Making for Legacy Cities," written by Michael P. Johnson, Justin B. Hollander, Eliza W. Kinsey, and George R. Chichirau and published by SUNY Press.

November 22, 2021 - Michael P. Johnson

Now is the time for cities to make strategic investments to scale up existing revitalization efforts.

October 21, 2021 - The Brookings Institiution

A new report outlines seven strategies for balancing economic development and equity specifically aimed at smaller, post-industrial cities.

June 8, 2021 - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

New research highlights some of the ways planners can increase the social benefits and public acceptance of green stormwater infrastructure.

May 20, 2021 - Christopher Tirri

Dan Gilbert, the billionaire credited with the revitalization of development interest in and around Downtown Detroit, made a bombshell announcement in his first in-depth interview since suffering a stroke in 2019.

March 26, 2021 - The Detroit News

The question of how the pandemic and all of its corresponding crises will alter the future of cities and planning has persisted since March. This article rightfully focuses those large, challenging questions of the Legacy Cities of the United States.

September 24, 2020 - Economic Innovation Group

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is launching the Legacy Cities Initiative to provide a network of support for cities of the country's industrial past.

September 18, 2020 - Lincoln Institue of Land Policy

Americans living in legacy cities face a unique set of challenges and opportunities in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Several local, state, and federal support strategies could aid these cities in recouping losses.

August 19, 2020 - Brookings

Case studies in dealing with population loss from Ohio, Maryland, and Massachusetts.

March 2, 2020 - The Guardian

The Interstate 84 viaduct in Hartford, Connecticut, is past due for major updates, and a variety of very different possibilities are on the table.

January 15, 2020 - CityLab

In the Rust Belt, neighborhood decline is much more significant than gentrification.

August 27, 2018 - Michael Lewyn

Jason Segedy's review of a must-read for all planners interested in the subject of "Legacy Cities."

June 17, 2018 - Notes from the Underground

A new report uses terms like epidemic and hyper-vacancy to drive home the point about the effects of vacancies on communities like Cleveland, Gary, Toledo, and Detroit.

June 8, 2018 - Curbed

In some cities and neighborhoods, the number of vacant properties is the only thing growing.

May 20, 2018 - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Not every Legacy City has the size and cultural cache of a Pittsburgh or a New Orleans to aid in its recovery, but there are resources available for smaller cities examining pragmatic revitalization strategies.

May 8, 2018 - Greater Ohio Policy Center

The Detroit Future City Implementation Office has completed a new strategic plan that will redirect the organizations revitalization efforts, four years after the city adopted the largely successful Detroit Future City framework.

November 10, 2017 - Detroit Free Press

Seattle appears to be following the Vancouver, B.C. model by increasing population and residential density while investing in transit. If it works, traffic congestion will not deteriorate, and vehicle trips should drop.

September 29, 2017 - Governing

For every Pittsburgh or Cleveland success story, there's a story waiting to be told in smaller cities like Gary and Lowell.

September 8, 2017 - At Lincoln House

Public Radio International (PRI) surveys the keys to an ambitious plan to restore the industrial "temples" of South Bend, Indiana.

August 30, 2017 - Public Radio International

The city of Akron has lost 93,000 residents since 1960, so it has room to grow. Now it has a draft housing plan that uses a tax abatement program modeled on examples in Cleveland and Cuyahoga Falls.

February 6, 2017 - Akron Beacon Journal