2010 Checkup

I’ve been thinking some this weekend about the 2010 plan. I’ve gone back through its vision statement, which is comprised of four simple, yet potent, elements:

Accepting that Youngstown is a smaller city.
Have we accepted this? If we didn’t do it initially, we’ve done it by now. Whether or not local media have sufficiently driven this home, the national and international media certainly have. Why is this important? It’s actually the critical step that sets us apart from other struggling regions elsewhere. It’s the proverbial first step in the twelve-step road to recovery.

Where do we go from here? How about recognizing that an abundance of resources with only modest drain is a key advantage? Youngstown has abundant space and a relatively small population consuming it. We’ve got room to breathe.

Defining Youngstown’s role in the new regional economy.
The 2010 report cites the following as the key industries that we’ll be riding to this new role: “the university, the health care sector, industrial clusters and the arts community”. I would never argue these aren’t important, even critical, assets that should continue to be supported and expanded upon. But the most important economical component to my eyes continues to be that which has shown the most growth and promises the most growth potential: Youngstown Business Incubator companies like Turning Technologies, Zethus, M-7, GreenEnergyTV, SSI, Empyra, the list goes on…

What I don’t hear enough of is the connection between our past and our present and future. Youngstown has been a hotbed of innovation since its inception, and that tradition continues today. The exploration and mining of the area’s natural resources took tremendous skill and entrepreneurship. The processing and refining of those resources took phenomenal ingenuity and engineering, in addition to the oft-lauded brawn. And today’s technology leaders employ the best in creativity and computer science.

Improving Youngstown’s image and enhancing quality of life.
The attention already paid to 2010 has, in itself, done good work towards improving Youngstown’s image in the nation. Ironically, it is here at home that the most work remains to be done to deal with image. The very fact that some asshole has to start off the discussion for any Vindy.com article with “Y-town is hopeless” is just one of the many ways we shoot ourselves in the foot. When we were preparing to move back, we made a few calls to various city bureaus to get information. When we said we were moving back, we invariably were asked, “Why?” And not in that “I’d love to hear your story, we’re so glad you’re moving here” way; more like “Why the hell would you want to move to Youngstown?”

Until we put a priority on our priceless heritage, we won’t be able to come to grips with what Youngstown can be. The city, the CIC and Lou Frangos have failed to protect buildings under their care and prevent them from ruin, and this is absolutely inexcusable. If we can find money to demolish buildings beyond the point of repair, we should be able to prioritize preserving irreplaceable historic structures.

A call to action.
I’m not aware of an established method for the people coordinating the 2010 plan to communicate with the community about its status or progress. The Web site is somewhat static, though new news items are posted regularly enough when the 2010 plan appears in various media outlets. But what deliverables are a part of the plan and when can we expect them? A broad timeline saying that implementation has begun and will continue is not really sufficient.

Also, what happens in 2010? Is that just a convenient name? It suggests 2010 as a milestone of some kind. But is it a finish line or one of those checkpoints in racing games where you get evaluated to see if you gain additional time to compete? If it’s just a convenient name to show “we’re forward-thinking,” I think that needs to be communicated better so everyone’s expectations are in line.

Summary
2010 is good, no question. However, if it’s truly going to be the signature effort of the city, there needs to be more communication and coordination. And nothing is going to get done if public safety isn’t taken care of. The community planning meetings that have happened on the North Side, from reports I heard, were full of questions about policing and safety. Not “where are we going” but “what about the present?” As long as we’re playing catch-up with crime and education, we’re going to struggle taking that next step towards renaissance.

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