Learning from Slavic Village: A Report from Ground Zero of the Foreclosure Crisis
When Anthony Trzaska hears or reads “Slavic Village” in news reports, he knows what is coming next.
Moving from Brooklyn to Detroit Is The Best Thing I’ve Done For My Children
I say this because it's true and because I just read a column by Aaron Foley that offered a bleak – if sarcastic – warning to New Yorkers attracted by the Move to Detroit billboards.
In Columbus, Somalis Live Under Suspicion
For the past year and a half, Abdiraham Sheik Mohamud, a 23-year-old Columbus resident born in Somalia, was being watched by law enforcement.
Money Does Grow on Trees: Canopy Cover Reflects Income Inequality
An enormous tree engulfs my front lawn. I do not know what kind of tree it is.
Redevelopment by Numbers in York, PA
Fueling vibrancy in a postindustrial city is a daunting task. Economic redevelopment, no matter how you slice it, can be exorbitantly expensive, snail-paced, and risky. Like many of its industry-starved brethren across the Rust Belt ...
Walking and Thinking: Technology and the New Navigation of Everyday Space
You know how when you read two books at the same time, they often kind of meld together in your head, like in that novel where Gatsby takes the raft down the Mississippi?
Hardboiled Coffee: Why Neighborhoods Need Mom & Pop Shops
Hardboiled Coffee Co. opened on a cold February day in 2013. I stopped by a few days before and found the doors locked and no one inside. I was so eager for a real coffee shop in Beverly, I didn't check to make sure of the grand-opening date.
Rust Belt Refugees – April 2015
These profiles tell the story of “Rust Belt Refugees” – former residents of the Rust Belt who have for one reason or another moved on to different parts of the country. The Rust Belt Refugees series is here: https://beltmag.com/tag/refugees/
A Tale of Two Cities: Why Chuy Garcia Won’t Turn Chicago Into Detroit
In 1983, shortly after Harold Washington was elected mayor of Chicago, Richard Mell, a white alderman, approached the African-American mayor with this plea: “Don’t make this city suffer for 300 years of injustice against your people.
The Legacy of Redlining in Rust Belt Cities
In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) set out to evaluate mortgage lending risk in American cities. The resulting maps codified and legitimized the racism of the day ...
Rust Belt Refugees – March 2015
Many from the Midwest have relocated for one reason or another, but many have never fully acclimated to their new home away from home. These March 2015 profiles tell the story of Rust Belt Refugees.
Long Lines at the Pantry: Hunger and Need on the Rise in Ohio
For the past five years, I’ve been a reliably imperfect member of a plucky church that serves a lot of poor people on Cleveland’s West Side. I’m consistently un-punctual at board meetings and have volunteered at the church’s ...