City In Transition

Strategies for Economic Regeneration of Inner-City Communities: The Case of Youngstown, Ohio by Frank A. Akpadock

In a climate of scarce financial resources, where federal and state fiscal assistance to cities has dwindled quantitatively, all civic leaders must somehow find a way to provide long-term vision, a good business climate, and diverse economic development planning strategies to grow their cities’ economies. Such plans should be strategically flexible and adaptable to change, yet strong enough to withstand the whirlwinds and vicissitudes of the constantly changing national and global economies. Youngstown, Ohio, achieved its success through the visionary leadership of its city mayors, who partnered with local University leadership, tapping into their invaluable assets of knowledge capital and technology transfer capacities, while at the same time mobilizing public support from labor, businesses, foundations, and other entrepreneurial stakeholders to provide assistance with the city’s economic recovery.

City in Transition is a landmark testimonial assessment of tried and true economic development strategies of Youngstown mayors’ visionary leaderships to revive and grow the city’s declining economy following its steel mill closings in the late 1970s. Economic development strategies together with city-size reclassification into a smaller post-industrial city, created a classic leadership story of foresight that transcended the city’s economic regeneration per se, to garner both national recognition and international attention.

Frank A. Akpadock

Frank Akpadock, Ph.D., is a senior research associate and regional scientist at the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio. He has published several peer-reviewed articles in reputable journals, technical research papers, a book chapter on regional economic development, and provided technical research works and assistance that support both private and public industries/businesses in the Mahoning and Shenango Valleys and beyond. In the 1990s, he assisted HUD to select the most eligible doctoral candidates for the Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant awards on areas related to housing and urban development. In lieu of financial remuneration for his service, HUD awarded him a life-time supply of HUD’s Journal, CITISCAPE. He’s currently a peer reviewer for the Journal of Urban Affairs Quarterly.