Ghost towns of the 21st century
Think the idea of using robots to eat up the suburbs sounds far-fetched? Apparently, there's already a need for such an invention arising in many shrinking towns across the Midwest. With much of America's industry continuing to move overseas, once great cities like Youngstown, OH, are having to come up with innovative ways to deal with the city's miraculous population exodus. One of the primary ways that Youngstown is dealing with its deflation is strategically demolishing sections of the city and turning them into "green spaces." Parks and greenbelts now sit where there was once an abandoned cul de sac. As part of their 2010 initiative, the city monitors low density areas. When only a couple of homes on a block remain inhabited, the city offers residents grant to move. This allows them to cut back on city services like garbage -- eventually bulldozing the entire block.
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The strange approach that Youngstown's city leaders have adopted, i.e. embracing shrinkage, has made it a model for cities in the 'Rust Belt.' At its peak, Youngtown's population hovered around 165,000, but the economy was based on industry like steel mills. With the closing of almost all the factory jobs, the population has slid to 80,000. That's a lot of empty neighborhoods.
The goal of the 2010 project is to streamline what's left of the city and attract a new class of citizens by offering an updated city plan -- including large green spaces, low overhead, and the ability to find housing near your work. Maybe they should install comprehensive bike-ways, that would really set them apart.
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