The article praises the city's plan to shrink 'its way into a new identity.'
YOUNGSTOWN — An article in The New York Times Magazine praising Youngstown for its 2010 citywide plan is drawing attention to the city from those outside the area.
Mayor Jay Williams said he's received numerous telephone calls and e-mails from people in Pennsylvania, New York and, of course, Ohio inquiring about the plan and its implementation.
"We're pleased to see our city portrayed in a positive light in a national publication," Williams said.
The Sunday article highlighted the Youngstown 2010 plan as one of the 74 best ideas in a variety of topics. This is the sixth consecutive year the magazine has published its list of best ideas.
"For decades, depopulated Rust Belt cities have tried to grow their way back to prosperity. Youngstown, Ohio, has a new approach: shrinking its way into a new identity," the magazine articles reads.
The article details the plan that calls for "razing derelict buildings, eventually cutting off the sewage and electric services to fully abandoned tracts of the city and transforming vacant lots into pocket parks."
The city wants "to capitalize on its high vacancy rates and underused public spaces; it could become a culturally rich bedroom community serving Cleveland and Pittsburgh," according to the article.
The article was written by Belinda Lanks, the managing editor of Metropolis Magazine. Lanks wrote an article on the Youngstown 2010 plan for that magazine in April.
"We hope this coverage gets us noticed throughout the country by developers and others interested in what we're doing here," said Anthony Kobak, the city's chief planner.