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Families in Flint Cope With the Impact of Lead [The New York Times]
Images of people dealing with the Flint, Michigan water crisis.

Millennial Influx Helps Cleveland Shake Rust Belt Reputation [Curbed]
Lately, Cleveland’s downtown population growth has been accelerating. It increased 79 percent between 2000 and 2016, and is projected to top 18,000 by the end of 2018, based on housing developments currently planned or under construction, according to new numbers released last month by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance.

Cincinnati’s Never-Used Subway Is 100 Years Old This Month [Next City]
For those hoping to see a resurrection of the Rapid Transit Loop, there is a glimmer of hope. In 2007, Cincinnati commissioned a feasibility study that concluded the tunnel is in sound condition and could support a light-rail system. Over the last few decades, the city has spent millions of dollars maintaining the tunnel, mainly repairing minor damages and leaks.

More than Rust: The Story of Ypsilanti [The Michigan Daily]
Regionalism aside, the future of Ypsilanti has many signs of hope. With an engaged mayor and a dedicated government, the city is working on tangible solutions to combat root issues in the community. Rebuilding the city’s public housing, bringing back the railroad, encouraging commercial growth and a multitude of other projects are all in the works for the city’s future.

This Is Why Ohio Is Becoming The e-Commerce Capital [CNBC]
Ohio checks off a number of key items for e-commerce: geographic location, a key transportation network, tax incentives and skilled labor. All of those combined have been enough to convince many retailers to locate e-commerce fulfillment operations in the heartland state including Amazon, J.C. Penney, Home Depot, Victoria’s Secret, Fanatics.com, Zulily.com and many others.

Young Rust Belt Preservationists Banding Together to Save Industrial Heritage [Curbed]
The challenge of protecting and preserving the region’s architectural history, and using it as a catalyst for future development, has led a group of young preservationists to try and find new means to publicize and protect endangered sites.

Banner photo of Depot Town, Ypsilanti by F. D. Richards.

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