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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > June > 21 > Entry
Editorial: Downsizing in Dayton doesn’t have to be all bad
Maybe it’s just Americans, or maybe it’s human nature, but when things get worse, people naturally think about fixing them and getting back to “normal.”
Sometimes, though, “normal” is gone for good (and for bad). That’s the situation with a lot of central cities in and around Ohio, places like Cleveland, Dayton and Youngstown. They have shrunk dramatically in population. That process has been going on for decades, but in some places it has accelerated in the last decade, with the foreclosure crisis.
Dayton’s population was down from a quarter million to more like 165,000 in 2000 and is continuing to shrink. Some people think Cleveland has lost 150,000 people just since the 2000 Census, bringing it down to about 325,000, strikingly close to Dayton at its peak.
Perhaps a day will come when the numbers start back up. Certainly, some central city neighborhoods across the country have seen revivals as young people, especially, have discovered the charms of city life.
But the reality is that Dayton’s numbers aren’t going to climb quickly or any time soon. Dayton-area residents lack at least one motivation for moving into the city that is powerful in bigger cities: they aren’t looking to avoid awful commutes.
Meanwhile, the metropolitan area also isn’t growing. And then there’s the matter of the national economy.
The right goal now is to come to terms with the smaller population and to look for advantages to the population decline. It’s not, after all, as if the cities in question used to be problem-less. It’s not as if every possible change is for the worse.
Are there uses that can be made of space that has been vacated, uses that make the city more attractive, that make life better?
In some neighborhoods, people are using formerly empty spots as community gardens and are cultivating food that’s healthy, not to mention cheap. Parks and other kinds of community gathering spots are being created.
Meanwhile, “smart downsizing” is the talk of urban planners, certainly in this part of the country. That effort has begun here in the form, for example, of an ongoing program to demolish abandoned houses that are a blight on neighborhoods and a draw for drug dealers and other bad elements. Getting rid of these places is a good idea.
However, the abandonment of houses in Dayton and elsewhere does not necessarily mean that they all have to go. People, including out-of-towners, have found that fixing them up and renting them can be profitable.
With all the homeowners who have been foreclosed upon — and all the others who can’t afford to buy right now— renting old houses could have a good future. But, of course, the surrounding neighborhoods have to be attractive.
Considering what’s happening to housing locally, it’s good to see Habitat for Humanity talking about repairing and refurbishing homes, not just building new ones.
The national headquarters of Habitat is encouraging affiliates toward rehabbing. Dayton Habitat is hoping to be one of Habitat’s 50 to 60 pilot projects under a new Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.
The formula for reviving Ohio cities and getting them a lease on a new kind of life hasn’t necessarily been found. But a change in mindset — a recognition of the up sides of shrinkage, combined with a determination to confront the obvious down sides — is a good way to start.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment | Categories: City of Dayton, Editorials, Martin Gottlieb, Predatory lending
Comments
By Rob
June 21, 2010 4:28 PM | Link to this
Pure Potential… That is what this obvious downsizing is presenting to city planners. There are Parks, Venues, and Green Spaces just waiting to be created. Interconnected bike paths are a possibility. Nope, not all bad…but it will cost some serious spending cabbage to get there.
By Rob
June 21, 2010 4:30 PM | Link to this
Pure Potential… That is what this obvious downsizing is presenting to city planners. There are Parks, Venues, and Green Spaces just waiting to be created. Interconnected bike paths are a possibility. Nope, not all bad…but it will cost some serious spending cabbage to get there.
By Skeptic
June 21, 2010 5:07 PM | Link to this
We should also think about preserving the best neighborhoods, like the Historic Districts around downtown. If we change the supply and demand curve, the better homes and communities can continue to grow in value.
By Jim
June 21, 2010 10:03 PM | Link to this
There another very good piece in the NYT’s today about this very issue in Detroit. It’s good to read something positive with some vision. The DDN is correct. It’s not all bad.
By Max
June 22, 2010 6:27 AM | Link to this
I think DDN, here, has a reasonable, realistic outlook. Unfortunately, the City Commission and the Downtown Dayton Partnership do not. Cities do change and very little of that change is the result of grand schemes by politicians and business. Allowing the people to use what’s here is a good start before making politically driven, grandiose plans. The city may consider a ‘one-for-one’ construction plan where construction permits are only issued when a structure is torn down. This would, in one way, create a supply/demand value to existing properties; private and commercial.
By David Esrati
June 22, 2010 8:05 AM | Link to this
If we’re looking for housing for a post-apocalyptic melt-down, this urban gardening thing is cute. The reality is- we sprawled ourselves out of relevance. Until America puts Americans back to work- instead of playing games on Wall Street with flash trading and credit default swaps- we’re heading to third world status. It’s time to tackle the real problem America is facing: we’re lying to ourselves if we think making coffee at Starbucks is a career- even if you give it a fancy name like “barrista.” Until the tool and die industry returns, until we have a reliable high speed knowledge network to every home (fiber), until we get rid of our dependence on foreign oil- we’re just rearranging deck chairs. This is a failure of Congress to pay attention to the people who vote- instead of to the people who buy their votes. www.electesrati.com has a simple outline on how to change this. In the meantime- learn how to grow your own food- because in the future- there will only be the uber rich- the super poor and those who work for the government in our near future.
By Max
June 22, 2010 9:18 AM | Link to this
David Esrati: “The reality is- we sprawled ourselves out of relevance.” ——David, the ‘sprawl’ was not caused by lack of jobs. It was because of too much city activity (traffic factories, etc), and a saturated housing market that the suburbs flourished. Levitown, if you remember, David, became a model for all this. A few miles commute to the city from Kettering, for example, was acceptable in the 1950’s and 1960’s. That the factories and businesses left was not the cause of the initial sprawl. Likewise, their return (tool and die? David, that’s a computer-tool operation now) is unlikely from any kind of serious investment standpoint. David, you have some nice ideas. Your looking to Congress and other issues as answers or blame for Dayton’s situation is notceably remiss of all the tax abatements the city, and other municipalities, extended to those companies. THAT, David, had nothing to do with sprawl. I think DDN offers a reasonable perspective as things are and how we can make do independent of outside (Congress, the oil industry, the boogey man, etc) influences. Granted, it’s not a solution but it is a start in improving the overall morale.
By Max
June 22, 2010 9:38 AM | Link to this
While David Esrati’s passions are understandable, I think his understanding of Dayton’s problems is limited by political perspectives. While not turning a blind eye to national and international forces that effect Dayton, they cannot be sole factors for reactionary decisions. Dayton’s recovery requires we give some attention to the whole history of the city. Regarding suburban sprawl, I just offer the hostorical genesis of this; it was John Patterson creating Oakwood as residential areas for his factory employees; close to work, but not next to work. THAT’s where the suburban model in Dayton began and why. Dayton has had, historically, many opportunities to adapt to new business and social changes. Although being forced upon us, Dayton, again, has an opportunity to adapt. Looking to the past is helpful to understand the problem, but is not in itself an answer. Dayton has lost its industrial base. That’s gone forever. David’s idea of a high speed internet hub is a good start to attract clean ‘industries.’ A city operated ‘server’ could be attractive to online businesses to locate here. But even ideas like this cannot be part of Dayton recovery as long as current business interests - as few as there are - argue for change convenient for them. That is where the City Commission and the Downtown Dayton Partnership become blind to real change and potential.
By joe_mamma
June 22, 2010 2:09 PM | Link to this
Right…. What we need for Dayton to come back is to have some technocrats hand pick our industries, opine on our career choices and centrally plan the economy of Dayton.
By Daedalus
June 22, 2010 5:17 PM | Link to this
Max you have hit the nail on the head. Politics is only one very small fraction of the problem, one that we can’t afford to focus our full attention on. The problems in Dayton are not political their cyclical. Downsizing that is taking place now should have began happening in 2000 when it was obvious that the manufacturing sector was shifting. The same happened here in 82-84 major inflation underemployment (14%), rediculous interest rates, with a good FICO score you still had 10% mortgage/interest rates. The difference between then and now is there are no niche industries (Auto,tool& die) to bail us out. Downsizing is positive while we figure out what our new identity should and will be as a city. For now police, fire, sanitation and water are the only aspects that should be concentrated on by city leaders.
By Davidss2
June 22, 2010 10:16 PM | Link to this
Still off track here. All the city “leaders” need to do so what they’re doing: put up some more speed and red light cameras. That will make all the other intersections much safer and will bring more people to Dayton!——-Personally, I avoid the streets other than interstate as much as possible because they need more real police around, not some silly camera. Maybe cameras for drug dealers would work and bring in more money as well. Or for silly, myopic politicians who think the Democrat in DC will give them more money for their budget for next year. Face it: DAyton’s dead because of poor leadership pandering to a dependent population.
By This is why we can't have nice things
June 24, 2010 8:11 AM | Link to this
Giving land away won’t help. As for people with property in Dayton….tough luck. The equity is gone, and you probably owe more than it’s worth.
By Jenet
June 24, 2010 2:22 PM | Link to this
This is a good article in the NYT. A good solid plan that does not duplicate existing programs is necessary. http://www.next-detroit.org/