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For a shrinking city like Youngstown, maintaining the infrastructure of its bygone past becomes a huge and costly problem. Oak Hill may be a less populous neighborhood than it used to be, but there are still enough people living here and there that the city can't simply cut off water, sewer and power. Youngstown's 2010 plan likens the city to a "size-40 man wearing a size-60 suit." Now that Youngstown has acknowledged in that plan that it is a smaller place, a big question is whether city officials can convince holdouts on far-gone blocks to move into more stable neighborhoods so that they can shut down streets and, possibly, return them to nature. Text and Photos by
CHRISTOPER SWOPE |