The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy has launched their Legacy City Initiative, complete with a new website, legacycities.org. The initiative is meant to help policymakers, civic leaders, and other stakeholders build on their city’s strengths and create a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous future.

Legacy cities in Ohio and across the United States were the engines of the country’s prosperity for decades. Despite population loss and economic shifts, today these older industrial communities are home to nearly 17 million people and a collective economy of $430 billion. To revitalize, legacy cities should leverage some of the many assets they already have – vibrant local culture, historic neighborhoods, underutilized workforces – and mobilize multi-sector collaboration among local leaders.

The Legacy Cities Initiative is a multipronged approach to supporting leaders on the ground, offering webinars, peer exchanges, new research, and a community of practice of select leaders who will meet regularly beginning in January 2021. As part of the Initiative’s launch, the Lincoln Institute has called for cities to participate in the community of practice. Interested city leaders can learn more and apply here.

The initiative’s digital home features case studies of successful policies and programs that can serve as national models for inclusive and sustainable revitalization; a searchable map charting nearly 100 legacy cities and their pathways of regrowth; and a comprehensive list of resources exploring the unique challenges and opportunities that legacy cities face. GOPC’s former colleagues Torey Hollingsworth and John Collier, contributed content featured on the new Lincoln Legacy Cities Initiative. The initiative builds off of the Lincoln Institute’s extensive work with legacy city leaders and scholars, including previous Policy Focus Reports like Revitalizing America’s Legacy Cities: Strategies for Postindustrial Success from Gary to Lowell (2017), written by Hollingsworth and GOPC Executive Director Alison Goebel.

GOPC has been assisting legacy cities in Ohio in regaining their full potential through original research on best practices and innovative policy solutions, and through the facilitation of peer learning. Especially in light of the economic stresses caused by the pandemic, the new Lincoln Institute Legacy City Initiative and website are integral tools in helping legacy cities in Ohio and beyond connect with each other on the road to revitalization.