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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) - The panoramic view from the front steps of Loretta Bares' modest hillside home says a lot about this old, industrial city.
The houses, generally well kept, are a testament to a time when steel jobs were abundant. But two abandoned houses with broken out windows near some tall weeds reveal her Brier Hill neighborhood's sad reality — advancing urban decay and population decline, tied to jobs that were never replaced. Nearby is Youngstown's last remaining steel plant.
For decades the northeast Ohio city tried to stem the number of people moving away. Then city planners decided to take a different approach — accept being smaller and clear away clutter.
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