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The Development and Utilization of Fine-scale Methods to Track Neighborhood Changes Case Study of Youngstown, Ohio

Burrell, Jennifer L
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1562369777781882

Abstract Details

2019, PHD, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography.
The postindustrial cities that comprise the Rust Belt are faced with the challenge of reinventing the city while addressing the ongoing issues of urban blight stemming from economic decline. As a result, a variety of strategies are utilized to improve the built environment of neighborhoods and the overall condition of the city. The issue then becomes how does a city track the effectiveness of those measures? Furthermore, how can a city develop a baseline of condition for a neighborhood from which strategy effectiveness can be measured? This dissertation develops methodologies for capturing fine-scale changes in neighborhoods. Collected spatial video data of Youngstown, Ohio were coded in a GIS using three newly developed coding systems; the condition coding, blight severity classification (BSC), and the modified blight variant. The condition coding and the BSC capture the condition and degree of blight at the parcel-level of a neighborhood. This allows for the occupancy status, parcel use (urban garden, maintained green space, unsecured vacant lot, etc.), and whether a parcel exhibits signs of blight that qualify it for a BSC rating of slightly, moderately, or severely blighted to be recorded. The modified blight variant joins those two coding systems to create a comprehensive system that assigns a scale-rating to a parcel based on its condition and blight. The coding systems were applied to two neighborhoods, Idora and Cottage Grove, that represent opposite ends of the spectrum of neighborhood conditions for Youngstown. The condition coding and BSC reveal that a singular blight-fighting measure, such as creatively painting window scenes on the plywood of boarded homes in Idora, does not have an impact on the aesthetics of a neighborhood, and therefore does not increase order within the built environment. Rather, utilizing multiple measures, especially those that create a nexus for community gathering, improve the visual condition by creating the appearance of a cared-for neighborhood. Cottage Grove does not have the means like Idora to combat blight, but what it does have is a rising rental housing stock. The three coding systems provided a way to analyze and challenge the assumption that rental properties are inherently destabilizing to a neighborhood. The analysis of parcel condition and blight for the study period revealed that rental properties represent a small portion of the blighted parcels of Cottage Grove suggesting rentals are not the sole perpetrator of blight and decline as assumed. Moreover, the analysis reveals a flaw in our understanding of why someone chooses to rent instead of owning a home. The notion that all renters are inherently disinvested in the neighborhood is a misinterpretation of the unique internal dynamics of a neighborhood. What should be concluded from this study is that each neighborhood has a distinctive social fabric that requires a tailored blight-fighting plan if success is to be had in combatting urban decline.
Andrew Curtis (Advisor)
214 p.
Geographic Information Science; Geography
urban decline; postindustrial city; spatial video; spatial analysis

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Burrell, J. L. (2019). The Development and Utilization of Fine-scale Methods to Track Neighborhood Changes Case Study of Youngstown, Ohio [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1562369777781882

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Burrell, Jennifer. The Development and Utilization of Fine-scale Methods to Track Neighborhood Changes Case Study of Youngstown, Ohio . 2019. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1562369777781882.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Burrell, Jennifer. "The Development and Utilization of Fine-scale Methods to Track Neighborhood Changes Case Study of Youngstown, Ohio ." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1562369777781882

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1562369777781882
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.