Tuesday, February 16, 2016

New Young's Town : Part 1



New Young's Town is a small, midwestern, rural college town in northeast Ohio, typical of many in the region such as Alliance or nearby New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Geographically it is the corridor between Gypsy Lane and Fellows Riverside Gardens. Travel a mile or less on either side of this corridor and one will be confronted with vast fields, woodlands and wildlife.

 At the center of this corridor is a gentrified downtown, with an abundance of banks, art galleries, luxury apartments, a rapidly expanding university, and internationally recognized art museums. The Wick and Crandall Park neighborhoods located to the North of the downtown, hold a vast collection of luxurious, early 20th century homes and mansions. The Mahoning Commons, southwest of the downtown, is known for artisan farms, small theaters, artisan studios and a slowly developing river front. At the edge of Mahoning Commons is Mill Creek Park which includes Fellows Riverside Gardens and several lakes. The visitor center in the Gardens is a delight, with a beautiful restaurant, art gallery, library, other amenities and splendid views of Lake Glacier.

 The median income of New Young's Town is high in relation to the cost of living. The population is predominantly white and educated. Most people live a life of relative ease and luxury. Some have labeled it a Trust Fund Economy.

 Beyond the fringes of New Young's Town, a city once existed named Youngstown. Known for steel making and other industrial production, the city claimed huge tracts of land for manufacturing and housing its tens of thousands of immigrant workers. A major decline began in the mid 20th century due to the steel industry's archaic modes of manufacture and other overpowering pressures. By 1977 the city collapsed, the immigrant population fled and Ruralization took the region in an unforgiving grip. By 1990 virtually nothing was left of the mighty city, and today the City of Youngstown is nothing but an unexplored archeological ruin beneath thousands of acres of vast wild lands inhabited by bears and coyotes. 
  

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