Strengthening neighborhoods. Empowering communities. Creating opportunity.
HOMES RENOVATED, NEIGHBORHOODS IMPACTED, PEOPLE SERVED
Newly Published…
Why Post-Industrial Cities Need Structural Repair, Not Reinvention
Post-industrial cities are often framed as stories, shrinking, reviving, or “coming back” from decline. But these narratives miss the deeper reality. Revival is visible; recovery is systemic. In cities like Scranton, Pennsylvania, downtown activity grows while neighborhoods remain unstable, housing deteriorates, and institutions struggle to deliver change.
This collection argues cities do not fail for lack of vision; they fail because the systems supporting everyday life, housing, land use, infrastructure, and governance, have been strained by decades of disinvestment and policies prioritizing spectacle over function.
Drawing on Scranton as a case study, these essays examine failures shaping residents’ lives: zoning that blocks investment, code enforcement that accelerates displacement, aging infrastructure compounding inequality, and civic institutions hollowed by short-term grants.
Beyond critique, the book offers a new lens: repair and care over reinvention. It calls for making the systems underpinning urban life visible, resilient, and functional for those who call these cities home.
