Mill Town Decline Ten Years Later: The Limits of Corporate Civic Leadership

Abstract

This article examines the impacts of global competition on the economic base of the mill towns in southwestern Pennsylvania, and the way in which the region's largest corporations have responded to the needs of these communities. The analysis shows that employment has declined throughout the 1980s, the towns' economic base is fragile, the location offers few advantages to businesses, and renewal depends upon the redevelopment of the idle mill sites. Except for companies that have plants in these communities, the region's large corporations and their primary civic agency have been largely silent on the communities' plight. The analysis addresses the reasons for this lack of involvement.