Northeast Ohio Summary

In the United States, about 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters every year. The overpopulation of these animals and the fact that they have no homes leads to about 40% of them being euthanized (ASPCA). This is a global issue, but the root of it can be found within the local community at The Humane Society of the Ohio Valley.

During the “Baby Boomer” era, following WWII, America underwent one of the largest demographic shifts and population growths in history. Huge amounts of home construction on the outskirts of America’s largest cities, known as “levittowns” became the new staple of the American dream, with the houses sporting two car garages, and white picket fences. These low density, predominantly middle class residential districts, were America’s first true suburbs. These suburbs were constructed mainly in response to the new postwar consumerism that enveloped the parents of the baby boomers. With the new economy, affordable housing, and most families becoming single income dependent, families grew bigger and bigger. The 1947 passing of the bill that lead to the interstate highway system, only added fuel to the fire of suburbanization. With the new interstate highway system, more affordable and fuel efficient automobiles, and the government aiding in the financing of new suburban homes, the choice seemed elementary. All of these factors pushing to the suburban movement, only spurred the baby boomers on, and between 1940-50, there was an 835% percent increase in living births with nearly 4 million children being born every year. In 1940, 19.5% of the United States population lived in what would be considered to be suburban areas outside of large metropolitan areas, however, by 1960; the number was pushing nearly 40%. The postwar suburbanization of America during the baby boomer

The Ohio Valley Region was known as the American frontier during the time period from 1760 to 1813. The white expansion into the Ohio Valley Region brought about the decline and the eventual dissolution of the Native American way of life. The struggles of the French and English in the north and the westward push of American settlers in the south were met with unified pro-nativist resistance. The individual struggles of three men characterize the turmoil between whites and Native Americans. Pontiac’s war against the English, Tecumseh’s organization of a unified Indian Confederation, and Daniel Boone’s leadership in the western migration into Kentucky demonstrate the fight for control in the Ohio

Growing up in a small town, someone wouldn’t think how much history is in that place. I’m very fortunate enough to live in a remarkable place that has a lot of history behind it. So let’s begin this journey together as we look back into the place that I call home.

In the 1800s, the first Steel Mills were built in Youngstown, Ohio and it’s economy flourished their Steel Mills produced the majority of steel used in World War I, their economy picked up once again during World War II. This created many jobs. On September 19, 1977, “Black Friday,” was started. It was the beginning of the end for Youngstown, Ohio’s stable economy. On September 19, 1977 Youngstown starting losing the steel industry jobs, this lasted until the mid 1980s. Youngstown, Ohio became apart of the ,”Rust Belt,” along with Pittsburg. The,” Rust Belt is a chain of cities in northeastern and Midwestern US, that are known for their declining industries. According to Professor Harris, Youngstown, “Ohio will NEVER Recover. Youngstown, Ohio

Before diving into the relevant action steps, it is important to understand the history that led to this crisis. Thompson (2010), states that after World War II, cities were highly valued and popular until conflict, poverty, and distress led to the demise of these cities; thus increasing the value of suburban

For the start of immigration in the mid 19th century, Cleveland has become a city full of cultural diversity and outside influence. In some cities at this time, people were forced to give up their traditions and culture, and assimilate into the already established culture of the city. In Cleveland, this allowed for a diverse workforce and unique neighborhoods. When the industrial revolution began, there was a spark in Cleveland's population and value, as a central city, between Minnesota and western Pennsylvania, Cleveland became the major hub for steel manufacturing. Companies, population and popularity of Cleveland grew exponentially while John D. Rockefeller grew his standard oil and railroad business. But then something unexpected happened, the great depression hit the United States hard, but it hit the city of Cleveland even

During the late 1750’s the struggle for control over the lands in the Ohio Country erupted into war on the soils of North America. Following King George’s War, the French Empire attempted to regain a foothold in the region. Believing the Ohio Country was the ideal location. The British government, well aware of the value the area held, essentially snatched the land out from under the feet of the French. Unknowingly setting the groundwork for years of conflict between all involved.

The suburban life is a dream which people of all economic backgrounds sought. Although many families were not able to realize the ideal white picket fence suburb experience which one often imagines when speaking of the suburbs, they still created a suburb of their own. The desire for a suburban home to call their own was largely due to the notion that a home provided a sense of security; it was safety net (Nicolaides and Wiese 2006:213). This safety net could not be obtained in the central city because people were simply not able to buy an apartment or condominium and instead were simply forced to rent. Moving to the suburbs and purchasing a home was seen as a good investment, and people of all races wanted in on this investment.

By the 1960s many of these urban areas, with the loss of capital, jobs, and so on; began to deteriorate, and property values fell. Currently with the higher costs of property in the suburbs and other communities, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to invest small and gain a big profit; thus, making the once "undesirable" urban properties with their low property values and costs, more "desirable."

After World War II, the United States of America became a much wealthier nation. As America gained wealth and the populations in urban cities and transportation technology increased, many Americans spread out, away from the urban cities, to fulfill the common dream of having a piece of land to call their own. The landscape constructed became known as the suburbs, exclusive residential areas within commuting distance of a city. The popularity and success of the suburban landscape caused suburbs to sprawl across the United States, from the east coast to the west coast and along the borders between Canada and Mexico. By the 1990s, many suburbs surrounding major urban cities developed into being more than merely exclusive residential areas.

The three most important indicators of economic health are output, employment and inflation. Output is one of the indicators because if a country is producing more output, then less people would be unemployed which leads to a healthier economy. Employment contributes to the indication of economic health because when more people are employed then more output can be produced contributing to Gross State Product. Inflation is an indication because it determines how much real value is being lost(Graham). In this paper I will analytically discuss the economic health of Oregon by looking at its Gross State Product, unemployment and cost of living. Gross State Product(GSP) is the total dollar value of all final output produced within a state in a certain time period, usually one year (Schiller). The aspects that contribute to a state’s GSP are all private and public consumption, government spending, investment and exports minus imports that occur within the states borders. GDP reflects the valued added for products instead of the total value so that the GDP is accurate (“Gross Domestic Product”). Unemployment is the inability of the labor force to find work and this contributes to the health of the economy. The cost of living

Many downtowns first emerged as a distinctive place due to elite residents with homes in the area, which served as meeting places for important business transactions. By the late 19th century downtowns had typically been laid out with designated business blocks (Ford 2003). The growth of the business block as an economic center and booming downtown forced out any competition that were not appropriate with “high rents, social pressure and architectural change” (Ford 2003, pp 45). This was the origin of the spatial structure and land use patterns that are associated with contemporary downtowns. The origin of the town structure is most commonly affiliated with European cities as models of spatial layout. Specialty business and retail districts that characterized American downtowns and what we now image a good downtown to be are directly linked to it European counterpart. The key characteristic that defer from the European model was the tendency for American cities to be street-oriented rather then place-oriented. This contributed to the more linear structure of the city, business pursued locations on the “main street” rather then near major plazas or religious buildings (Robertson 1997).

Metropolitan areas exhibit an amazing diversity of features, economic structures, amounts of infrastructure, historic roots, patterns of development, and degrees of conventional planning. Yet, lots of the problems that they deal with are strikingly acquainted. For example, as metropolitan areas grow, they grow to be increasingly diverse.

Corporations are taking over the urban landscape. In previous years, many upper and middle class families fled to the suburbs to escape the everyday hustle of city life. However, in recent years, city living has become glamorized and thus the movement back into the city has increased. Once blighted inner-city neighborhoods are being taken over and revitalized by corporate leaders in hopes to redesign and yuppify these areas. As more money is put into the area, the higher the market value goes up and as a result, many local residents can no longer afford to live there. While these residents are pushed out, a more ‘desirable’ group of residents move in and thus, take over. This process, known as gentrification, is occurring in many cities all across the nation. In the past, displaced residents could possibly move to another area that was not undergoing this process. However, as we are seeing in Chicago, it is nearing impossibility to move to an area within the city that will not