Toledo Blade Editorial
Article published Thursday, May 31, 2007
Despite the bad rap and grim predictions frequently accorded Toledo, it is encouraging that the potential for brighter days for the community dominates the crystal ball floated by at least one urban policy research organization.
A study by the respected Brookings Institution looked at 302 industrial cities nationwide and focused on 65 that are struggling economically and socially. It does not rhapsodize unrealistically about Toledo's beleaguered status in the urban milieu, but neither does it make the mistake of writing us off to rust-belt oblivion, as some observers have done.
Notably, Toledo is ranked above the struggling 65, unlike eight of its Ohio big-city counterparts. The study accurately inventories the city's numerous geographic and cultural assets and suggests that better times could be in store if timely aid comes in the form of state policies revised to benefit urban areas.
Indeed, with a new governor in the Statehouse, such help may be on the way. What is needed is to shift Ohio's economic development engine out of low gear, where it has sputtered the past decade, and slam it into overdrive.
This is what Gov. Ted Strickland has in mind with his "Turnaround Ohio" program, which aims to focus on and improve education and worker training.
What's needed now is to flesh out that campaign slogan with real policy changes that will bring more jobs and greater prosperity.
Toledo rises above its brethren in the Buckeye State primarily because it rates higher in terms of what the Brookings study called "residential well-being." On that scale, Toledo ranked 194, compared to anywhere from 204 to 288 for Cincinnati, Mansfield, Springfield, Canton, Warren, Dayton, Cleveland, and Youngstown.
In concrete terms, this means our world-class art museum, a public university, public transit, health care, plentiful water resources for drinking and recreation, and it means the Mud Hens. In short, Toledo is a good place to live, work, and raise a family.
Statewide, however, some policies need an overhaul, including a transportation program popular with suburban interests in the General Assembly which, Brookings says, has encouraged suburban sprawl to the detriment of cities.
To be sure, the survey does not paint Toledo's future in rosy hues. But it does provide cause for optimism.
As Neil Reid, director of the Urban Affairs Center at the University of Toledo, put it, "Progress here in Toledo has been slow, but I think its trajectory is moving in the right direction. As long as we keep moving in the right direction, it gives us reason to hope."