Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Navigating Government Statistics Of Small Businesses For Pandemic Assistance, Iryna Demko, Iryna V. Lendel, Georgina Guadalupe Figueroa

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This brief examines various sources of government statistics to assist in understanding the scope of small businesses, the legal structure of their operations, and their distribution by industry in the Northeast Ohio (NEO) region. Under the current restrictions for business operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many entrepreneurs and small businesses need assistance to maintain cash flow and to retain both their employees and customers. Governments at all levels have developed business assistance programs to help small businesses; more recently, some of these programs have revised their rules. To illustrate who might be affected by the changing rules, several sources …

Moving Cleveland Above The Trend: Innovation & Talent, Iryna V. Lendel, Merissa Piazza, Molly Schnoke, Nora Walsh

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

A recent report conducted by the Center for Economic Development includes a model for understanding and predicting economic growth in U.S. mid-sized regional economies to analyze structural and policy-based factors among similar regions. The Center used factor analysis as a data-reduction technique to identify the influences in mid-sized regional economies. This statistical analysis found five factors influencing the mid-sized regional economies reviewed for this report. They are 1) Innovation and Talent, 2) Entrepreneurship in High-Cost Areas, 3) New Residential Centers, 4) Retirement Destinations, and 5) Polarization. This was followed by an analysis to determine the relationship between these factors and …

Housing Market Pressures In Youngstown During The Gm Plant Closure (2016 To 2019), Iryna Demko, Molly Schnoke, Rachel Lefebre, Isabella Mcknight, Merissa Piazza

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This brief seeks to investigate the changes in the regional housing markets for renters and homeowners in the Youngstown region due to the General Motors Lordstown Assembly closure. Housing is an important part of the regional infrastructure that can attract new people in times when the Youngstown region tries to develop high-tech industries and reinvent its economy. The quality of housing stock determines the amount of property taxes, which help fund local schools as well as city services. In 2019, both median household income and median home values declined in the Youngstown region. The demand for rental properties increased as …

City Of Lorain Comprehensive Housing Assessment And Needs Analysis: Appendices, Kirby Date, Charlie Post, Rachel Riemenschneider

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

City Of Lorain Comprehensive Housing Assessment And Needs Analysis, Kirby Date, Charlie Post, Rachel Riemenschneider

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The City of Lorain, a city of 63,000 along the Lake Erie waterfront at the mouth of the Black River in Lorain County, Ohio, is a revitalizing Legacy City with both opportunities and challenges in enhancing its ability to ensure a decent, affordable home in a quality neighborhood for every Lorain resident. This housing study was undertaken by the Center for Community Planning and development at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, acting as consultant to the City of Lorain. The purpose of the study is to provide the City with recommended priorities and …

Moving Cleveland Above The Trend: Entrepreneurship Policy, Iryna V. Lendel, Merissa Piazza, Molly Schnoke, Shneur Kushner

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

A recent report conducted by the Center for Economic Development discussed the structural and policy factors of economic growth in mid-sized U.S. economies and included an analysis of similar regions. The Center used factor analysis as a data-reduction technique and identified five factors influencing mid-sized regional economies: 1) Innovation and Talent, 2) Entrepreneurship in High-Cost Areas, 3) New Residential Centers, 4) Retirement Destinations, and 5) Polarization. An analysis determined the relationship between these factors and the changes in regional employment, gross regional product (output), and per capita income. This brief outlines the initial analysis primary takeaways as it relates to …

Update Of Investigation Into Changes In Fuel Economy And Vehicle Range Related To Change In Ambient Temperature For Battery And Fuel Cell Electric Buses, Mark Henning, Andrew R. Thomas, Alison Smyth, David Higgs

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report is an update to a 2019 evaluation of the effects of changes in ambient temperature on the fuel efficiency and range of zero emission buses (ZEBs). (The 2019 evaluation is available at https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/urban_facpub/1630/). The report relies on data that was made available from transit agencies that have deployed hydrogen fuel cell electric, battery electric, compressed natural gas (CNG), and diesel buses. Additional control variables were included in this update to isolate the fuel efficiency effects associated with temperature variation. This analysis reinforces findings from the 2019 report showing that fuel economy and range for electric drive buses vary …

Procurement Strategies For Reducing Capital Costs Of Zero-Emission Buses, Alison Smyth, Justin Brightharp, Andrew R. Thomas, Mark Henning

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

One of the challenges to deployment and commercialization of zero-emission buses is the high capital cost of the vehicles relative to vehicles powered using conventional technologies. A strategy for reducing these costs is to increase sales volume, which has been successfully driven through funding opportunities like the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Program. Another strategy for increasing sales volume is to combine vehicle purchases from multiple transit agencies through a joint procurement. There have been extensive exercises in Europe to decrease the cost of fuel cell electric buses using a joint procurement strategy, with some level of …

Pandemic Related Housing Assistance, December 2020, Iryna V. Lendel, Molly Schnoke, Erica Henrichsen

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The COVID-19 disease has resulted in a worldwide pandemic. Over 85 million worldwide confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in a single year (2020) with more than 1.8 million of those cases resulting in death. The United States reported over 20 million confirmed cases in 2020 with over 300,000 deaths. This is a public health crisis that has resulted in widespread government response including event cancellations/prohibitions, stay-at-homes orders, the closure of nonessential businesses, and more. Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio declared a state of emergency on 3/9/2020 immediately following the first case reported in the state. On 3/13/2020, President …

Economic Vitality Index: Mapping Ohio's 88 Counties, Matthew Ellerbrock, Courtney Whitman, Iryna V. Lendel, Merissa Piazza

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Along with the unimaginable death of hundreds of thousands, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused economic hardship for many more millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of businesses, large and small. After experiencing the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, we are now faced with an unprecedented contraction in modern times as workers see their hours reduced – or jobs eliminated – and businesses scale down operations or close their doors altogether. As part of its effort to aid in responding to Ohio’s economic downturn resulting from the pandemic, the Center for Economic Development (Center) is tracking the overall economic …

Chester Township Community Questionnaire Summary Report, Kirby Date, Molly Schnoke, Rachel Lefebre

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The Center for Community Planning and Development at CSU’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs was engaged by Chester Township to assist with conducting a Community Questionnaire. CSU’s role was to work with the Township in developing the questionnaire; and then receiving and analyzing the responses. The questionnaire was mailed to all resident addresses in the Township in May of 2020; responses were received and analyzed during June, July and August. To keep the cost low, the questionnaire was not designed to be a statistically calibrated survey, but rather a questionnaire which would enable the community to get a …

Shale Investment Dashboard In Ohio Q3 And Q4 2019, Andrew R. Thomas, Mark Henning, Oluwatosin Oladipo, Samuel Owusu-Agyemang

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report presents findings from an investigation into shale-related investment in Ohio. The investment estimates are cumulative from July through December of 2019. Prior investments have been included in previous reports that are available from Cleveland State University.. Subsequent reports will estimate additional investment since the date of this report

Jobless Pandemic: Geography Of Layoffs And Opportunity Zones, Georgina Figueroa, Matthew Ellerbrock, Iryna V. Lendel

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is a law designed to protect workers against employment losses. Employers are required to provide employees with a 60-day notice in the event of plant closings and mass layoffs. Under normal conditions, WARNs are required in the event of a) Plants closing or stopping operation either permanently or temporarily affecting 50 or more workers; b) Layoffs of 500 or more employees during a 30-day-period or when these layoffs constitute at least a third of the company’s workforce; and c) Temporary layoffs expected to exceed six months, in this case, when a temporary …

Can The Eitc And Unemployment Insurance Replace Lost Wages?, Megan Hatch, Chloe G. White

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on all aspects of social, economic, and political life worldwide. In the United States, millions of people have tested positive for COVID-19, and over 200,000 people have died from the virus. While Ohio’s governor and director of public health have been credited for their quick decision-making in response to the pandemic, Ohio’s communities still suffered, with well over 100,000 cases and thousands of COVID-19-related deaths statewide.

Policymakers aiming to reduce the spread of COVID-19 were forced to make difficult tradeoffs between public health and the economy. On March 23, 2020, Governor Mike …

Are There Opportunities In Opportunity Zones?, Tatyana Guzman, Rachel Lefebre

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Opportunity Zones (OZ) are an economic development tool designed to spur investment in impoverished areas (census tracts). OZs were created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. They allow investors to defer (and, if investments are held for a long time, to partially exclude) capital gains received from qualified investments made in Opportunity Zones from federal tax. In this research we speculate on the potential effect of the Opportunity Zones program in the greater Cleveland area. 8,764 census tracts in the United States received Opportunity Zone designation. 320 of them were selected in Ohio. Of those, 317 are low-income …

Youngstown Economy: Recession And Path To Recovery, Iryna Demko, Iryna V. Lendel, Merissa Piazza, Georgina Figueroa, Matthew Ellerbrock

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This brief seeks to identify opportunities for the Youngstown economy to recover from the COVID-induced economic recession.

Moving Cleveland Above The Trend: Benchmarking Regional Performance (Presentation), Iryna V. Lendel

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

About the Study

Model for understanding and predicting economic growth in U.S. mid-sized regional economies similar to Cleveland and NEO

Analyzed structural and policy-based factors and looked for outperformers - what can Cleveland learn about their public policies and programs?

Used a multi-stage process collecting 43 variables associated with regional growth, including educational attainment, business composition, regional assets, and quality of life

The mid-sized regional economies analyzed encompass 135 metro areas, and includes populations spanning from 352,823 to 3.9 million

Used factor analysis as a data-reduction technique to identify factors influencing growth in mid-sized regional economies:

*Innovation and Talent
*Entrepreneurship …

Moving Cleveland Above The Trend: Benchmarking Regional Performance (Report), Iryna V. Lendel, Merissa Piazza, Molly Schnoke, Jinhee Yun, Nora Walsh

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

When analyzing economic development, we must consider both the factors that can be changed through policy and those that cannot. This report includes our model for understanding and predicting economic growth in U.S. mid-sized regional economies to analyze structural and policy-based factors among similar regional economies. Our research used a multi-stage process that involved collecting 43 variables on a variety of topics that are associated with regional growth, such as educational attainment, business composition, regional assets, and quality of life. In total, our mid-sized regional economies encompass 135 metro areas, and includes populations spanning from 352,823 to 3.9 million. We …

City Of East Cleveland Visioning Project, Roland Anglin, Gregory L. Brown, Kirby Date, Elaine Sutton, Dwain Johnson, Elizabeth Nardi, Erin Vokes

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The city of East Cleveland, a first-ring suburb on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, has an estimated population of 17,000. The city was once a thriving bedroom community of 40,000 with a strong manufacturing job base that, in turn, supported a vibrant civic, social, and cultural life for many years.

East Cleveland has seen steady decline over the last thirty years, the result of regional economic changes and demographic shifts. As Cleveland and the surrounding region revitalizes, East Cleveland boasts significant assets that put it in the path of opportunity and development. An excellent location, close to transportation and …

Economics Of Carbon Capture And Storage For Small Scale Hydrogen Generation For Transit Refueling Stations, Peter Psarras, Mark Henning, Andrew R. Thomas

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Refueling infrastructure for early adopters of hydrogen vehicles finally appears to be imminent. There is a consensus among long haul trucking and transit agencies that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are likely to be the most cost-effective strategy for transitioning to low or zero emission fuels, especially in cold weather climates. Hydrogen refueling stations will require careful planning to ensure costs are low and that carbon dioxide emissions are minimized. Until such time that refueling stations are commonplace, the most likely scenario for mitigating both costs and carbon intensity will be local, on site hydrogen generation at the refueling stations. …

Doctoral Education And The Academic Job Market In Planning: 2019-2020, Joanna Ganning

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report presents the results from the final year of a three-year study on doctoral education and the academic job market in Planning. The project set out to describe the academic job market in Planning and its trends, including both the availability of jobs and the rate at which new PhDs are granted. At the project’s end, the data show stability in several aspects of the academic job market in Planning, including the numbers of both graduates and jobs, timing of the job market, features of graduate training, and to a limited extent, the popularity of specializations.

Efforts To Promote Voting By Mail May Help Ensure Strong Voter Turnout Among Both Young And Old Voters In Cuyahoga County's Fall 2020 Election, Mark J. Salling Phd, Gisp

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Voting by mail (VBM) has been a well-established practice in the State of Ohio for many years before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Cuyahoga County's Fall 2016 election, for example, more than 193,000 voters (31.8% of all voters) chose the VBM option to cast their ballots.

Individual voter records are confidential. Yet in a previous Focus on Facts the author described a method to analyze publicly available voter records that produces reliable estimates to describe the demographics of who votes (race, age, neighborhood, etc.).

Figure 1 reveals how the use of VBM varied by age group among Cuyahoga …

Reliance On Voting By Mail Could Reduce Voter Turnout Among Black And Hispanic/Latino Voters In Cuyahoga County, Mark J. Salling Phd, Gisp

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Those who urge greater reliance on voting by mail (VBM) argue that VBM will help increase voter participation and reduce exposure for populations with greater risk for the COVID-19 disease. Yet an analysis of 2016 voting behavior in Cuyahoga County suggests that VBM could result in suppressing voter turnout among Black and Hispanic voters unless outreach to those populations can increase their confidence in, and preference for, using the postal service to cast their votes in the 2020 general election and beyond. This is a particularly important in the coming election due to the likely risk of exposure to COVID-19 …

Neo Grids Performance In 2020, Iryna Demko, Merissa Piazza, Iryna V. Lendel

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The Center for Economic Development identified 33 driver industries in the 2019 report titled “Northeast Ohio Front Runners: Groups of Regional Industry Drivers (GRIDs).” GRIDs are wealth-creating industries that pay high wages, have a robust regional specialization, and contribute to the economy through regional supply chains. However, in this year alone, the U.S. and Ohio economies have seen a trade war with China, retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, the collapse of oil prices, and mandatory business closings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These events contributed to the already ongoing cyclical repression, and impacted the wealth creation of Northeast Ohio’s (NEO)3 …

Vote By Mail By Race And Hispanic Ethnicity In Cuyahoga County, Mark J. Salling Phd, Gisp

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The current arguments to increase voting by mail rather than at the polls may result in suppressing voting by Black and Hispanic voters unless outreach to those populations can increase their confidence in and preference for using the postal service to cast their votes in the 2020 general election and beyond. This is a particularly important in the coming election due to the likely exposure to COVID‐19 at the polling places should the pandemic be still a significant health risk at places of congregation.

Thinking Like A Region In Northeast Ohio? Factors That Predict Local Government Participation In Collaborative Policy And Planning, Meghan Rubado, Joanna Ganning, Thomas Hilde, Wendy A. Kellogg

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Local governments in Northeast Ohio often collaborate with one another to provide services, pursue regional initiatives, and create regional plans. Collaborative arrangements can create efficiencies, save money, improve service quality, and boost regional vitality. But they also present costs and risks that leaders must weigh against potential benefits.

The Nasa Glenn Research Center: An Economic Impact Study Fiscal Year 2019, Iryna V. Lendel, Jinhee Yun, Courtney Whitman

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The NASA Glenn Research Center creates the benefits within the regional economy by engaging contractors from Northeast Ohio and Ohio, paying high wages to their employees who spent most of their income locally, and collaborating with local higher education institutions providing them with research grants and contracts. This study uses a multi-regional input-output (I-O) model to estimate the effect of NASA Glenn Research Center’s spending on the economies of Northeast Ohio (NEO) and Ohio. This model measures economic impact in terms of growth in output (sales), value added (output less intermediary goods), number of new and supported jobs, labor income, …

From Economic Slowdown To Recession, Iryna Demko, Iryna V. Lendel, Merissa Piazza

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The most recent recession, known as the “Great Recession,” began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The recession affected the entire U.S., but its impacts were not uniform. Unfortunately, Ohio was a primary example of the recession’s iniquities as the recession lasted five months longer here compared to the rest of the nation. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, we face further uncertainty and another recession with economic activity contracting “sharply and abruptly” across the entire U.S. This research brief examines the state of the economy in the U.S. and Northeast Ohio pre-pandemic (2019) and provides an analysis of …

The Role Of Public Transportation In Youngstown, Iryna V. Lendel, Iryna Demko, Obed Pasha, Georgina Figueroa

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The Center analyzed the relationship between public transit availability and employment in the entry-level job hubs. Using a Poisson model for the Youngstown origin-destination matrix, we found that a 10-minute decrease in rush-hour travel times by public transit is expected to increase employment by almost 7%. This means that 224 more residents of each low-income census tract will have access to the entry-level job hubs in Youngstown. As transit agencies are experiencing major disruptions to normal operating procedures because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our findings show that without access to public transportation many people lose prospective employment.

Ohio Workers And The Covid-19 Global Health Emergency, Joseph Andre, Robert Gleeson

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The global economy has never before experienced the scale of sudden economic shock that is now underway. This is unchartered territory. Although the U.S. has many economic policies and worker support programs designed to ease dislocation during recessions, these programs were not designed for the unique circumstances of this global pandemic.

The most important program for workers is Unemployment Insurance. The first chart in this report shows the unprecedented number of new applications for unemployment insurance filed by Ohio workers during the week of March 16th. If all applicants are awarded benefits, the second chart shows that the number of …