1. City of Mansfield
TechnicalExpertise
DeliberateandNegotiate
Aggregate&Bargain
DevelopPreferences
ExpressPreferences
ListenAsSpectator
Individual Election
Personal Benefit
ExpertAdministrators
ProfessionalRepresentatives
ProfessionalStakeholders
LayStakeholders
RandomlySelected
Open,TargetedSelection
Open,Self-Selection
DiffusePublicSphere/Everyone
Communicative Influence
Advise/Consult
Co-Govern
Direct Authority
Shrinking American cities are characterized by significant population loss and persistent
vacany. Many cities have created design- or development-based strategies to deal with
this issue. Alternatively, Public participation is believed to produce essential information,
build community capacity and innovate solutions to local problems (Fung 2006, 73). The
extent to which decisions are informed by or incorporate participatory practices varies.
A comparison of processes in particular cities considers the question of whether public
participation can accomplish goals of combating vacancy and contributing to revitalization
in mid-sized cities in Ohio. This research will focus on land and community development
processes within the past decade in Hamilton, Lima, Mansfield and Youngstown and
analyze them using a theoretical framework, Archon Fung
,
s the Democracy Cube.
Comparative analysis for this research will include policy and document analysis and
semi-structured interviews with key participants of selected processes. The outcome
seeks to identify effective land banking strategies at both the city and county level and
their capacities to incorporate public participation in future efforts in land development
strategies.
Archon Fung developed a theoretical framework, The Democracy Cube, for categorizing
public participation of government institutions. This framework considers three aspects of
variations in participation methods arranged on the x, y, z axes. By charting the actions
undertaken by each city, we can see the tendencies to locate engagement within a
particular zone of the Democracy Cube.
The first selection criterion for cities for this study targeted mid-sized cities, defined as
having a population between 25,000 and 75,000 people. Each of these cities are county
seats for their respective counties. This study was not necessarily concerned with the
existence of a county land bank, but the level of activity of the land bank, as measured by
the amount of Delinquent Tax and Assessment Collection (DTAC) funding that the land
bank receives from the county. Management of land was identified as either single parcel
transactions, selling each parcel individually, or spatial targeting, addressing several
parcels at a time.
Participation: who is included in the process
Modes of Communication and Decision-Making: how participants communicate with each
other by voicing and/or collecting their opinions
Authority and Power: the level of impact of the discussion with participants
City of Hamilton, Butler County
• Population: 62,447
• Butler County Land Reutilization
Corporation (county)
City of Lima, Allen County
• Population: 38,355
• Lima LAND Bank (city)
City of Mansfield, Richland County
• Population: 46,454
• Richland County Land Reutilization
Program (county)
City of Youngstown, Mahoning County
• Population: 65,184
• Youngstown Neighborhood
Development Corporation (city)
• Mahoning Count Land Bank (county)
After selecting cities based on the criteria previously disclosed, the next phase was to identify key plans and
documents that alluded to public participation processes in each of the cities. Review of the documents was
conducted to identify processes incorporated in each of them. Once processes were identified, they were
Third Program Year (2011-2012)
CAPER
2014-2018 Consolidated Plan
2035 Comprehensive Plan
Richland County Strategic
Development and Implementation
Plan (2014)
2010 North End Economic
Development Plan
Downtown Mansfield Parking And
Wayfinding
Consolidated Plan 2012-2016 & Annual Action
Plan 2012-2013
Neighborhood Stabilization Program
Community Reinvestment Area: Tax Abatement
Weed and Seed Federal Program
Five-Year Consolidated Plan
South Main Street Corridor Enhancement Plan
2012-2013 Annual Action Plan
Lima Allen County Community Association
Community Survey
Lima Allen County Community Affairs Community
Assessment
Lima Allen County Regional Planning
Commission (LACRPC)
City of Lima Land Use Ordinance
Moving Ohio Forward Demolition Grant Program
Neighborhood Stablization Program
LAND Bank Program
Youngstown 2010
Neighborhood Conditions Report
Youngstown Neighborhood
Development Corporation Plan
Update
Lots of Green 2.0
Regeneration Youngstown and
Mahoning County: Vacant Property
Reclamation
categorized on each of the three axes of
the Fung Democracy Cube.
The next step in the research will be to
speak with stakeholders. For each of
the reports and projects reviewed, key
stakeholders have been identified. In
order to obtain a more accurate idea of
the public participation and outcomes
in these cities, the stakeholders will
be interviewed for further qualitative
information about the results of
these projects. After conducting
stakeholders interviews, the
representation of the
processes within the
Democracy Cube can
be re-evaluated.
CO
M
M
UNICATIO
N
&
DECISIO
N
M
O
DE
PARTICIPANTS
AUTHORITY
&POWER
Active County Land Bank
(utilizes DTAC funding)
Inactive County Land Bank
(does not utilize DTAC funding)
Single-Parcel
Transactions
City of Mansfield
(Richland County)
City of Lima
(Allen County)
Spatial Targeting
City of Youngstown
(Mahoning County)
City of Hamilton
(Butler County)
PARTICIPANTS
AUTHORITY&POWER
C
O
M
M
U
N
IC
ATIO
N
&
D
EC
ISIO
N
M
O
D
E
EXPERTADMINISTRATORS
PROFESSIONALREPRESENTATIVES
PROFESSIONALSTAKEHOLDERS
LAYSTAKEHOLDERS
RANDOMLYSELECTED
OPEN,TARGETEDSELECTION
OPEN,SELF-SELECTED
DIFFUSEPUBLICSPHERE/EVERYONE
INDIVIDUAL ELECTION
COMMUNICATION INFLUENCE
ADVISE/CONSULT
CO-GOVERN
DIRECT AUTHORITY
TECHNICALEXPERTISE
DELIBERATE&NEGOTIATE
AGGREGATE&BARGAIN
DEVELOPPREFERENCES
EXPRESSPREFERENCES
LISTENASSPECTATOR
PERSONAL BENEFIT
PARTICIPANTS
AUTHORITY&POWER
C
O
M
M
U
N
IC
ATIO
N
&
D
EC
ISIO
N
M
O
D
E
•
EXPERTADMINISTRATORS
PROFESSIONALREPRESENTATIVES
PROFESSIONALSTAKEHOLDERS
LAYSTAKEHOLDERS
RANDOMLYSELECTED
OPEN,TARGETEDSELECTION
OPEN,SELF-SELECTED
DIFFUSEPUBLICSPHERE/EVERYONE
INDIVIDUAL ELECTION
PERSONAL BENEFIT
COMMUNICATION INFLUENCE
ADVISE/CONSULT
CO-GOVERN
DIRECT AUTHORITY
TECHNICALEXPERTISE
DELIBERATE&NEGOTIATE
AGGREGATE&BARGAIN
DEVELOPPREFERENCES
EXPRESSPREFERENCES
LISTENASSPECTATOR
PARTICIPANTS
AUTHORITY&POWER
C
O
M
M
U
N
IC
ATIO
N
&
D
EC
ISIO
N
M
O
D
E
EXPERTADMINISTRATORS
PROFESSIONALREPRESENTATIVES
PROFESSIONALSTAKEHOLDERS
LAYSTAKEHOLDERS
RANDOMLYSELECTED
OPEN,TARGETEDSELECTION
OPEN,SELF-SELECTED
DIFFUSEPUBLICSPHERE/EVERYONE
INDIVIDUAL ELECTION
COMMUNICATION INFLUENCE
ADVISE/CONSULT
CO-GOVERN
DIRECT AUTHORITY
TECHNICALEXPERTISE
DELIBERATE&NEGOTIATE
AGGREGATE&BARGAIN
DEVELOPPREFERENCES
EXPRESSPREFERENCES
LISTENASSPECTATOR
PERSONAL BENEFIT
PARTICIPANTS
AUTHORITY&POWER
C
O
M
M
U
N
IC
ATIO
N
&
D
EC
ISIO
N
M
O
D
E
EXPERTADMINISTRATORS
PROFESSIONALREPRESENTATIVES
PROFESSIONALSTAKEHOLDERS
LAYSTAKEHOLDERS
RANDOMLYSELECTED
OPEN,TARGETEDSELECTION
OPEN,SELF-SELECTED
DIFFUSEPUBLICSPHERE/EVERYONE
INDIVIDUAL ELECTION
COMMUNICATION INFLUENCE
ADVISE/CONSULT
CO-GOVERN
DIRECT AUTHORITY
TECHNICALEXPERTISE
DELIBERATE&NEGOTIATE
AGGREGATE&BARGAIN
DEVELOPPREFERENCES
EXPRESSPREFERENCES
LISTENASSPECTATOR
PERSONAL BENEFITS
Preliminary conclusions have been deduced based on reviewing of identified documents and
categorizing processes within those documents for the target cities.
Hamilton meets federal minimum requirements of public participation. Beyond these informa-
tive processes and comment period, Hamilton does little to empower community-level initia-
tives. Land reutilization and development plans are either not documented or easily accessi-
ble by the public.
Lima engaged community members to meet federal participation requirements. Many pro-
grams were designed to encourage further community participation, but residents are not mo-
tivated in these processes or do not understand the potential impacts of their involvement.
Mansfield, at the city level does not engage the community beyond federal requirements for
many projects, but a few presented several participation opportunities at multiple points along
project timelines.
Youngstown has a number of plans and processes in place which represent a large area of
the democracy cube and some of which have achieved national recognition, however the ef-
fects of their effort have not yet come to fruition. Speaking with stakeholders regarding the
processes in Youngstown is anticipated to be revealing.
Analyzing Participation Strategies for Vacant Land Reuse in Ohio
Tori Luckenbach; Mary Turner; Mattijs Van Maasakkers, PhD; Kristi Cheramie, Jacob Boswell
Departments of City and Regional and Planning and Landscape Architecture, The Knowlton School, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Abstract
Background
City Selection
Methods
Results
Results (continued)
Conclusions
References
City of Hamilton
City of Lima
City of Youngstown
Greater Ohio Policy Center. (2015). Taking Stock of Ohio County Land Banks Current Prac-
tices and Promising Strategies. Columbus, Ohio: Greater Ohio Policy Center.
Fung, Archon. (December, 2006). Varieties of Participation in Complex Governance. Public
Administration Review, Special Issue, 66-75.