Redevelopment Rates around Deindustrialized U.S. Cities: Economic Development Networks, Scalar Politics, and Spatial Inequalities

Keywords: urban geography, urban development, development networks, deindustrialization, regional equity, scalar politics
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 09:40 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 11:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 16

Abstract

More than half of the twenty-five U.S. counties that have experienced the highest rates of deindustrialization do not exhibit the common characteristics ascribed to older industrial communities, such as population loss and economic struggles. Regional economic factors and workforce characteristics account for a significant portion of the variability, however the role of multi-scalar governance of planning, development, and infrastructure, including the particular effects of regional leadership, community capacity, and interconnectivity, is under-researched. This study addresses this gap by examining the development networks across the various metropolitan, county, city and neighborhood scales and governmental levels in these 25 regions. The intraregional demographic, economic and spatial patterns are analyzed alongside of the interregional comparisons. The results show the redevelopment processes in cities marred by a failure to rebound are associated with fragmentation across the region. Where collaboration does exist, the networks are centered outside of or skip over the core city. At the same time, in places where there are multiple linkages across scales, then there is more effective redevelopment. The findings are applicable both for improving equitable development practices and for understanding the multi-scalar dimensions of social-spatial processes of urban development generally.