sections
Newark, New Jersey - Solution
Cleveland, Ohio - Solution
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Solution
Detroit, Michigan - Solution
Buffalo, New York - Solution
Washington, Pennsylvania - Solution
Cleveland, Ohio - Solution
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Solution
Detroit, Michigan - Solution
Buffalo, New York - Solution
Washington, Pennsylvania - Solution
Newark, new jersey
This city is located fairly close to NYC and is both an origin and destination for thousands of commuters each day. It is New Jersey’s largest city. Once a major manufacturing center, with its industrial boom in the early to mid-1800’s—it was known for its leather factories and breweries. The construction of the Morris Canal and various railroads turned Newark into a bustling port city. Lately, this has changed, and the city’s largest employer is the healthcare industry. Transportation and retail are large employers for this city as well. The current population is around 285,000 which is its highest level in the last 30 years. However, the city’s population growth has been pretty stagnant over the last several decades with less than 5% growth since 1990. Newark’s 28.3% poverty rate means that more than 80,000 residents are living below the poverty line. Unfortunately, the citizens whose income is above the poverty line are still struggling as well because the city’s median income is only $34,826, which is only 60% of the national median income. The cost of living in this city 22% higher than the national average, which leaves the home-ownership rate at only 20.9%. The average home price in Newark is pretty expensive compared to other cities in the U.S. The average home price is $552,506, whereas the national average is $347,000. Looking at jobs and unemployment rates—Newark has a fairly high unemployment rate of 6.3%. This probably has to do with the level of education of those who live in this city. Less than three quarters of Newark’s residents hold a high school diploma, and only 13.8% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. This city has the second worst graduation rate in the state of New Jersey. Nationally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 1/3 of small businesses will close within only two years of opening. Only 53% of small businesses are expected to survive after five years of business. In this city the five-year survival rate for businesses is only 47%. This city is also extremely dangerous with the third highest murder rate in the nation. Overall, between the combination of low wages, fairly high unemployment rate, and limited education, this all leads to the storm of financial issues for Newark Residents, leading to a median credit score of 574—which is well into the subprime range. In late April, Wallet-hub released its list of 2015’s best and worst cities to start a business, and ranked Newark dead last among 150 other cities.
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland was built on the shores of Lake Erie and is the second largest city in Ohio--with Columbus being the largest. It was once a bustling center of manufacturing and transportation. In today’s economy, Cleveland is still strongly dependent on the manufacturing industry but the national drop in manufacturing has resulted in healthcare becoming the city’s largest industry. Cleveland has had a steady population decline of nearly 25% since 1990. The poverty rate of this city is high at 35% of the city’s population living below the poverty line, which is 60% higher than the national average. Ten years ago, the rate was 31.1%. East Cleveland was ranked fourth poorest in the nation, with about one in three city residents remaining in poverty. Unfortunately, there are not many high paying jobs in Cleveland… the median income is 52% below the national rate (yikes). The cost of living isn’t nearly as high as it is in other major cities, however, citizens still seem to be struggling with the home-ownership rate only being 41.8% even though the median home price is less than $70,000 dollars. The average cost of housing in Cleveland is 15.2% which is lower than the national average. Looking at jobs, the unemployment rate for Cleveland is 6.4%, which is about 40% higher than the national rate. Only 16.3% of Cleveland’s population has a bachelor’s degree. Due to the financial stresses the citizens of Cleveland are facing, their median credit score is only 619 which borderlines bad credit. The per capita debt burden of $5,700, including general municipal debt as well as millions in unfunded pension and retiree healthcare benefits.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The city of Philly has been a center for trade and industry for over 100 years as the economic anchor of the Delaware Valley. While still being a bustling city, Philadelphia has been consistently ranked as one of the poorest cities in the nation and the city’s unemployment rate has remained well above the national average. Philly is home to a number of large universities and major companies so the city itself isn’t without high-paying jobs; 28.6% of the city’s population holds a bachelor’s degree or higher and often hold jobs in the technology and science fields. For the large portion of under-educated residents, however, the primary options are low-paying healthcare, education, or retail positions. The median income in Philly is only about $40,649, which is more than $17,000 below the national median. Due to the income gap, more than a quarter of the residents of Philly live under the poverty line—which is about 16% more than the national average. The cost of living in Philadelphia is 17% higher than the United States average, and the median housing price is over $150,000, with only around half of their residents owning homes. Also, groceries, housing, and utilities in Philadelphia cost notably more than the national average. The median credit score for the residents of this city is 642 which isn’t the best. When you look beyond the residents themselves, the city doesn’t seem to be much better at budgeting than its citizens. Philadelphia’s debt burden is reported to be over $16 billion, with a taxpayer burden of more than $30,000 per capita.
Newark, new jersey's solution
Newark’s Mayor, Ras Baraka believes that “Going Local” is going to be the secret to economic development for the city. Currently, the major employers in Newark mostly hire people and buy business supplies and services outside the city limits and he hopes to change this. Newark’s mayor’s solution is an initiative called: Hire, Buy, Live. He hopes that this could provide other local governments with a playbook, for spurring economic development in a way that prioritizes the welfare of residents. Baraka has convened a new coalition of public, nonprofit and private employers with the goals of hiring 2,020 local residents by the year of 2020. He also hopes to increase the percentage of goods and services that local employers buy from local businesses to 10%. Colleges, hospitals and several national companies headquartered in Newark have already committed to the initiative. Convincing business to buy locally not only keeps sale tax revenue in the community, but it also has the potential to recirculate money in the community. Baraka hopes that local businesses win contracts and then spend that money on other local businesses—resulting in the “multiplier effect.” This initiative was announced in June of 2017 and the mayor hopes to see improvement in the near future.
Cleveland, Ohio's solution
The City Club of Cleveland hosted a conversation where Jon J. Pinney, a city leader for Cleveland, spoke and discussed his ideas on how Cleveland can fix their economy. He speaks heavily on this idea of “alignment.” He wants to make the city aligned. During this conversation he asked, “Is that the structural defect that is holding Cleveland back and preventing them from growing like other competitive cities?” He said that Cleveland’s economy is more like an ego-system, rather than an ecosystem because the city leaders don’t know who is doing what, what resources are available to clients, tower businesses, and to people who really want to use the system and help grow the economy, and the overall culture of Cleveland is not collaborative. He states that there needs to be clear performance metrics that could truly apply across the system since very few metrics are even published. Overall, his main message to the residents of Cleveland was that as a community, they need to put the whole economic system through a comprehensive alignment and vision process to form an ecosystem. They need to study other models and bring in economic experts from out of town to help them come up with a solution. This process is still going on and there has yet to be many changes made to Cleveland’s economy.
Philadelhpia, pennsylvania's solution
- Philadelphia’s Mayor, Jim Kenney created an economic growth plan in May of 2019 that focuses on inclusion and equity.
- The plan focuses on three key areas: jobs, talent, and neighborhoods. The plan ties together both current and new initiatives.
- This plan includes three inclusive growth goals.
- The first goal is to: Grow the economy to create family-sustaining jobs for all Philadelphians. Some things that this will include are: expanding entrepreneurial support for people of color, women, and immigrants, deploying smart business incentives, and investing in logistics, distribution, and transportation infrastructure.
- The second goal is to: Prepare Philadelphians for jobs that pay family-sustaining wages. Some objectives that this will include are investing in a quality k-12 system, improving degree completion, and increasing labor force participation and economic mobility.
- The third goal is to: Encourage equitable growth in neighborhoods without displacement. This will include maintaining housing affordability and renter protections, investing in neighborhood assets, and simplifying and expanding home-ownership and housing programs.
- The mayor believes heavily in the idea that when managed well, economic growth can create opportunities and help reduce inequality.
- This initiative is enforcing that all residents are a part of the city’s economy, and they are already beginning to see some improvement.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan is one of the most dangerous cities in the United States and has one of its worst economies. The once fourth-largest city and the center of the automobile industry was the place to be in the early 19th century. The city has seen a steep economic decline since the late half of the 20th century. This economic decline is caused by the de-industrialization of the city and the large decline in its population.
The growth of Detroit took off in 1899 when Ransom E. Olds opened Detroit's first auto manufacturing plant. This created thousands of new jobs and started a migration into the city. On June 16, 1903, Ford started the Ford Motor Co. in Detroit, followed by William Durant and Charles Stewart Mott five years later, who founded General Motors in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick. The last of the big manufacturing companies to move to Detroit was on June 6, 1925, the Chrysler Corp. founded by Walter Chrysler. It is now headquartered in Auburn Hills, a Detroit suburb. By 1950 Detroit's population hit 1.85 million, making it America's fourth-largest city, with 296,000 manufacturing jobs. The city was rapidly growing on a good path to success and becoming a great place to live.
During this time rising racial tensions were a prediction of problems the city would face. WWII brought many African Americans into the city to find work since a larger number of white males went off to fight. When the soldiers came back and saw their jobs were all taken by African Americans tensions rose.
By the late 1950's, Detroit had started on a downward spiral. The 3,500,000-square-feet Packard Motor Car Co. factory in Detroit, opened in 1903, was shuttered causing around 40,000 people to be unemployed. The racial tensions grew so high the bloodiest riot broke out between July 23-28, 1967. The Twelfth Street riot broke out. The riots were a series of violent confrontations between residents of predominantly African American neighborhoods of Detroit and the city’s police department that began on July 23, 1967, and lasted five days. The riot resulted in the deaths of 43 people, including 33 African Americans and 10 whites. Many other people were injured, more than 7,000 people were arrested, and more than 1,000 buildings were burned in the uprising. The riot is considered one of the catalysts of the militant Black Power movement. The deeper causes of the riot were high levels of frustration, resentment, and anger that had been created among African Americans by unemployment and underemployment, persistent and extreme poverty, racism and racial segregation, police brutality, and lack of economic and educational opportunities.
The 1973 oil crisis began in October when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations perceived as supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The initial nations targeted were Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States with the embargo also later extended to Portugal, Rhodesia, and South Africa. By the end of the embargo in March 1974, the price of oil had risen nearly 400%, from the US $3 per barrel to nearly $12 globally; US prices were significantly higher. The embargo caused an oil crisis, or "shock". This crisis helped smaller, more fuel-efficient foreign-made cars a toehold in the U.S., signaling a long period of crisis for Detroit's Big Three automakers.
The start of the 21st century did not hold much luck for Detroit. The May of 2009 Chrysler and GM declared bankruptcy, and the Obama administration provided financing and guides the automakers through expedited bankruptcy proceedings. In March, 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that Detroit's population had fallen to 713,777, a 25 percent plummet from 2000 and the lowest level in 100 years. Detroit's finances were premised on a minimum tax base of 750,000 people. A new law, Public Act 4, that allowed the state to intervene in financially troubled local governments took effect. A state review board appointed by Snyder decided that Detroit was in "operational dysfunction," unable or unwilling to restructure its finances, and needed intervention from the state in 2013. This report summed up the decline of Detroit into a report and brought the problems the city had been having to the light.
Today Detroit is not any better than it has been in the last decade. The population is around 673,104 people, which is a third of the population it once was. The unemployment rate of 11.1% almost triples the US average of 3.7%. Detroit has seen the job market increase only by 0.7% over the last year. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 29.3%, which is lower than the US average of 33.5%. The average income of a Detroit resident is $14,984 a year half of the US average. The median household income of a Detroit resident is $26,095 a year. The US median is $53,482 a year.
Detroit is considered one of the most dangerous cities to visit and live in. In a crime index, that gives cities a score from 1-100, one being the safest and 100 being the most dangerous. Detroit got a score of 94.3 in violent crimes and 66.7 in property crimes. To compare the US average is 22.7 in violent crimes and 35.4 in property crimes. Not only is crime a huge problem the health system is poor. There are 187 physicians per 100,000 population in Detroit. The US average is 210 per 100,000 people.
The growth of Detroit took off in 1899 when Ransom E. Olds opened Detroit's first auto manufacturing plant. This created thousands of new jobs and started a migration into the city. On June 16, 1903, Ford started the Ford Motor Co. in Detroit, followed by William Durant and Charles Stewart Mott five years later, who founded General Motors in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick. The last of the big manufacturing companies to move to Detroit was on June 6, 1925, the Chrysler Corp. founded by Walter Chrysler. It is now headquartered in Auburn Hills, a Detroit suburb. By 1950 Detroit's population hit 1.85 million, making it America's fourth-largest city, with 296,000 manufacturing jobs. The city was rapidly growing on a good path to success and becoming a great place to live.
During this time rising racial tensions were a prediction of problems the city would face. WWII brought many African Americans into the city to find work since a larger number of white males went off to fight. When the soldiers came back and saw their jobs were all taken by African Americans tensions rose.
By the late 1950's, Detroit had started on a downward spiral. The 3,500,000-square-feet Packard Motor Car Co. factory in Detroit, opened in 1903, was shuttered causing around 40,000 people to be unemployed. The racial tensions grew so high the bloodiest riot broke out between July 23-28, 1967. The Twelfth Street riot broke out. The riots were a series of violent confrontations between residents of predominantly African American neighborhoods of Detroit and the city’s police department that began on July 23, 1967, and lasted five days. The riot resulted in the deaths of 43 people, including 33 African Americans and 10 whites. Many other people were injured, more than 7,000 people were arrested, and more than 1,000 buildings were burned in the uprising. The riot is considered one of the catalysts of the militant Black Power movement. The deeper causes of the riot were high levels of frustration, resentment, and anger that had been created among African Americans by unemployment and underemployment, persistent and extreme poverty, racism and racial segregation, police brutality, and lack of economic and educational opportunities.
The 1973 oil crisis began in October when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations perceived as supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The initial nations targeted were Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States with the embargo also later extended to Portugal, Rhodesia, and South Africa. By the end of the embargo in March 1974, the price of oil had risen nearly 400%, from the US $3 per barrel to nearly $12 globally; US prices were significantly higher. The embargo caused an oil crisis, or "shock". This crisis helped smaller, more fuel-efficient foreign-made cars a toehold in the U.S., signaling a long period of crisis for Detroit's Big Three automakers.
The start of the 21st century did not hold much luck for Detroit. The May of 2009 Chrysler and GM declared bankruptcy, and the Obama administration provided financing and guides the automakers through expedited bankruptcy proceedings. In March, 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that Detroit's population had fallen to 713,777, a 25 percent plummet from 2000 and the lowest level in 100 years. Detroit's finances were premised on a minimum tax base of 750,000 people. A new law, Public Act 4, that allowed the state to intervene in financially troubled local governments took effect. A state review board appointed by Snyder decided that Detroit was in "operational dysfunction," unable or unwilling to restructure its finances, and needed intervention from the state in 2013. This report summed up the decline of Detroit into a report and brought the problems the city had been having to the light.
Today Detroit is not any better than it has been in the last decade. The population is around 673,104 people, which is a third of the population it once was. The unemployment rate of 11.1% almost triples the US average of 3.7%. Detroit has seen the job market increase only by 0.7% over the last year. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 29.3%, which is lower than the US average of 33.5%. The average income of a Detroit resident is $14,984 a year half of the US average. The median household income of a Detroit resident is $26,095 a year. The US median is $53,482 a year.
Detroit is considered one of the most dangerous cities to visit and live in. In a crime index, that gives cities a score from 1-100, one being the safest and 100 being the most dangerous. Detroit got a score of 94.3 in violent crimes and 66.7 in property crimes. To compare the US average is 22.7 in violent crimes and 35.4 in property crimes. Not only is crime a huge problem the health system is poor. There are 187 physicians per 100,000 population in Detroit. The US average is 210 per 100,000 people.
Detroit, Michigan's solution
Some solutions that are suggested to help Detroit center around increasing the population. Since the city was meant to hold millions of people, with the drastically decline in population the city’s infrastructure is being left to rot. To increase the population, Detroit has to fix the crime problem so that people are willing to live in the city. The services like Fire, Police, EMT's and transportation workers need to have better training and funding to help make them better. The main objective that will greatly help Detroit is to make the city more appealing for people to live in. Fix infrastructure, reduce crime, and bring jobs back into the city.
buffalo, new York
With the increased commerce of the Erie Canal, the population boomed and Buffalo was incorporated as a city in 1832. The channel, which traverses New York State from Albany to Buffalo on Lake Erie, was considered an engineering marvel when it first opened in 1825. The Erie Canal provided a direct water route from New York City to the Midwest, triggering large-scale commercial and agricultural development—as well as immigration—to the sparsely populated frontiers of western New York, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and points farther west. The canal transformed New York City into the young nation’s economic powerhouse, and in 2000 the U.S. Congress designated the Erie Canal a National Heritage Corridor. This canal made Buffalo a great new port to export and import goods. Around the start of the 20th century, Buffalo was a growing city with a burgeoning economy. Immigrants came from Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Poland to work in the steel and grain mills which had taken advantage of the city's critical location at the junction of the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal. The city was booming with many factories such as steel, and iron mills. At one point there were more millionaires per area than other city, including New York City.
The city, which boasted over half a million people at its peak, has seen its population decline by some 50%, as industries shut down and people left the Rust Belt for the employment opportunities of the South and West. Erie County has lost population in every census year since 1970. The term, Rust Bowl, is for an informal region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting around 1980. Rust refers to the de-industrialization, or economic decline, population loss, and urban decay due to the shrinking of its once-powerful industrial sector. The reasons for Rust Bowl are a national decline of the iron and steel industry, the movement of manufacturing to the southeastern states with their lower labor costs, and the layoffs due to the rise of automation in industrial processes such as technology advances. The decreased need for labor in making steel products, new organizational methods such as just-in-time manufacturing which allowed factories to maintain production with fewer workers, the internationalization of American business, and the liberalization of foreign trade policies due to globalization are all reasons for the Rust Bowl.
Buffalo today is not doing so well and cannot compare to what the city once was. The city has an unemployment rate of 5.8% compared to the US average of 3.7%. Buffalo has seen the job market increase by 1.0% over the last year. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 21.9%, which is lower than the US average of 33.5%. The average income of a Buffalo resident is $20,726 a year. The US average is $28,555 a year. More than half of Buffalo households (55 percent) cannot afford their rent. The Median household income of a Buffalo resident is $31,668 a year as to while the US average is $53,482 a year. The city’s violent crime, 56.6, is over double the rate of the US, 22.7. Buffalo property crime is 61.4, the US average is 35.4.
The city, which boasted over half a million people at its peak, has seen its population decline by some 50%, as industries shut down and people left the Rust Belt for the employment opportunities of the South and West. Erie County has lost population in every census year since 1970. The term, Rust Bowl, is for an informal region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting around 1980. Rust refers to the de-industrialization, or economic decline, population loss, and urban decay due to the shrinking of its once-powerful industrial sector. The reasons for Rust Bowl are a national decline of the iron and steel industry, the movement of manufacturing to the southeastern states with their lower labor costs, and the layoffs due to the rise of automation in industrial processes such as technology advances. The decreased need for labor in making steel products, new organizational methods such as just-in-time manufacturing which allowed factories to maintain production with fewer workers, the internationalization of American business, and the liberalization of foreign trade policies due to globalization are all reasons for the Rust Bowl.
Buffalo today is not doing so well and cannot compare to what the city once was. The city has an unemployment rate of 5.8% compared to the US average of 3.7%. Buffalo has seen the job market increase by 1.0% over the last year. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 21.9%, which is lower than the US average of 33.5%. The average income of a Buffalo resident is $20,726 a year. The US average is $28,555 a year. More than half of Buffalo households (55 percent) cannot afford their rent. The Median household income of a Buffalo resident is $31,668 a year as to while the US average is $53,482 a year. The city’s violent crime, 56.6, is over double the rate of the US, 22.7. Buffalo property crime is 61.4, the US average is 35.4.
Buffalo, new York's solution
Buffalo is not hopeless; there are solutions that have been proposed to help bring the economy and city back to where it once was. POLICY REPORT APRIL 2018 Poverty in Buffalo: Causes, Impacts, Solutions A Report for the Truth Commission on Poverty in Western New York came out explaining the problems the city is having and a solution path to help the city get back on its feet again. There are three main objectives on how to help the city. One was to raise incomes for working people, enhance their right to organize and bargain collectively and to raise minimum and living wage levels. The second is to reduce expenses, increase funding for basic needs such as affordable housing, public transportation, nutrition, and quality childcare and preschool. The last one is to provide more support for the 2018 Community Agenda. This includes planks regarding improved public transit; fair, affordable, and lead-safe housing; community policing and criminal justice reform; and support for people with disabilities, refugees and immigrants and other residents particularly vulnerable to poverty and discrimination. Some examples for achieving these objectives are that Erie County should pass a fair housing law that forbids discrimination by landlords based on source of income. The NFTA should mandate that its police officers undergo restorative justice training. The City of Buffalo should designate marijuana the “lowest level enforcement priority” for the Buffalo Police Department and stop making arrests for low-level, simple possession of marijuana. Also, NFTA should phase in electric buses, to help decrease the pollution in the city air, making the city more appealing to people.
Washington, Pennsylvania
The historic economic health of Washington County had been based upon fossil fuel (bituminous coal, petroleum, natural gas) extraction, mineral mining, and glass production, and agriculture-- with steel production, metal fabrication, industrial machinery, and equipment production increasing in importance beginning in the early 1900's. Trends for the last 30 years have reflected an emergence of primary metal, metal fabrication, stone-clay-glass, industrial machinery, and equipment sectors while coal-mining sectors continued to play a major role in the county's economy. Most recent trends, both locally and nationally, show a dramatic increase in service-related industries. For instance, in 1970 the goods-producing sector accounted for 57.5 percent of the county’s total employment with manufacturing having the largest employment base (42.5%). During this time, the service sector accounted for only 8.4 percent of employment with the government at 1.0 percent. By 1996 the county’s employment picture had changed drastically as manufacturing had declined to 17.8 percent employment, while the services sub-sector had increased to 26 percent and an increase in the government sector of 12.7 percent.
Today in Washington, the unemployment rate is 4.4%. Washington has seen the job market increase by 0.3% over the last year. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 24.4%, which is lower than the US average of 33.5%. There are 171 physicians per 100,000 population in Washington with top employer being the Washington Hospital. The average income of a Washington resident is $20,069 a year compared to the US average of $28,555 a year. The US median is $53,482 a year. Yet the median household income of a Washington resident is $34,234 a year. The crime is not as bad other cities mention with violent crime being 28.5 and property crime being 52.9. The major problem is drug use, with over 80 drug- related deaths noted in 2018. The education are vastly un-standardized. There are two high school within five miles of each other, yet they have different classes. One has more options and offers AP and IB classes and the other does not.
Visitors can see the deterioration of the city through the loss of business and the vacant, falling apart building throughout the city. Right outside of downtown, impoverished business have left due to lack of profits. There are neglected apartment building in the heart of Washington, Pa. One of which collapsed in July 2017. Across the street from the courthouse, the 10-story George Washington Hotel dwarfs the low-rise buildings around it. In its heyday, the hotel, built in 1923, hosted guests like John F. Kennedy and The Beatles. As recently as 10 years ago, the hotel was often full when the natural gas boom brought an influx of rig workers into Washington County. As that boom has receded, the hotel has dipped to 40% occupancy. The Washington Crown Center, is the main mall within the area and that is left with many empty space, and a rotation of many different businesses. With the Tanger Outlets right around the corner most people are shopping there rather than the smaller stores.
Today in Washington, the unemployment rate is 4.4%. Washington has seen the job market increase by 0.3% over the last year. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 24.4%, which is lower than the US average of 33.5%. There are 171 physicians per 100,000 population in Washington with top employer being the Washington Hospital. The average income of a Washington resident is $20,069 a year compared to the US average of $28,555 a year. The US median is $53,482 a year. Yet the median household income of a Washington resident is $34,234 a year. The crime is not as bad other cities mention with violent crime being 28.5 and property crime being 52.9. The major problem is drug use, with over 80 drug- related deaths noted in 2018. The education are vastly un-standardized. There are two high school within five miles of each other, yet they have different classes. One has more options and offers AP and IB classes and the other does not.
Visitors can see the deterioration of the city through the loss of business and the vacant, falling apart building throughout the city. Right outside of downtown, impoverished business have left due to lack of profits. There are neglected apartment building in the heart of Washington, Pa. One of which collapsed in July 2017. Across the street from the courthouse, the 10-story George Washington Hotel dwarfs the low-rise buildings around it. In its heyday, the hotel, built in 1923, hosted guests like John F. Kennedy and The Beatles. As recently as 10 years ago, the hotel was often full when the natural gas boom brought an influx of rig workers into Washington County. As that boom has receded, the hotel has dipped to 40% occupancy. The Washington Crown Center, is the main mall within the area and that is left with many empty space, and a rotation of many different businesses. With the Tanger Outlets right around the corner most people are shopping there rather than the smaller stores.
Picture available to the Public Domain by OZinOH on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/525862071/in/photolist-Ntbtr-LF2Z4E-akyiwB-xG7wRE-duEhNc-ob5fJr-akB7x7-i578uw-sVHTF-22TLvt5-akB7rS-28qQEyq-ZXP4fU-DZkQJ5-gDtvUX-22TFg5e-xTx6bf-KmTBtn-2gddhN2-2gddhPV-27BmvQ4-22cAqLb-22cAqv1-22cAr8o-76jisv-9ZEytC-U2gkKW-Pm66vt-sXAHMv-EDSdv6-dEBeFC-Lit5HK-akB7t7-Vie2Q3-gDtg68-2hcVMzz-JxDZK-2gr5uYG-74fJqG-sqVw88-RPffEw-8XXDJ2-27hF3nS-PjpFs-pou75-27bu3Nu-rXvUFU-5Rq5Ua-Fi1Hgk-5Rq4WT
Washington, Pennsylvania's solution
Some solutions that will help Washington is to help clean up the city. By offering better services and creating better housing for the people living in Washington, people will return to this historic town. Standardize the two schools, so there is not such a difference and every child gets an equal opportunity to succeed. The city needs to fix infrastructure and building, but will need an increase of businesses to help fill the vacant lots and buildings. A new movement is to help create a better relationship with Washington and Jefferson college. There has been historically bad tension tension between the town and the college for years. An effort to promote a sense of connection for the students with the local community will help further W&J's commitment to create a dynamic relationship with local businesses. The school has launched an initiative called the W&J Local Business Ambassadors program. The goal of this program is to highlight businesses which provide a discount to students at W&J through joint promotion and marketing. The W&J Local Business Ambassador program highlights businesses which are eager to welcome W&J students by providing a student discount.
Works cited
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