By Debora Flora
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The two terms in the headline are used interchangeably, but each has its own distinction.
Economic development is business oriented. It focuses on job creation, commerce expansion and expanding wealth, as the International Economic Development Council explains.
Community development goals are people-centric, as in improving residents’ quality of life, understanding their priorities, and expanding their opportunities.
Economic development and community development are complementary efforts. Attracting new industries boosts hiring; job training prepares residents for employment. Neighborhood improvements take root when businesses invest in an area and neighbors achieve stable employment.
The need for complementary strategies in local housing development is critical. Significant to this discussion is Kimberly-Clark Corp.’s emerging $800 million manufacturing plant in Warren. It is tentatively set to begin operations in mid-2027, and expected to employ many hundreds of workers when it reaches capacity.
Kimberly-Clark is advertising for senior mechanical and electrical engineers who have bachelor’s or advanced degrees and years of experience, among other qualifications. These positions, and others to follow, may attract workers from outside the region. To reduce the pool of workers who commute here from greater Cleveland and Pittsburgh – and take their earnings back to those communities – our area must add housing options that meet their needs and expectations. In return, each new household brings a mix of customers, students, taxpayers, volunteers, arts patrons and team members.
Kimberly-Clark also seeks full-time production technicians and machine maintenance personnel who possess high school diplomas and general computer knowledge. With advertised hourly pay rates exceeding the living wage, it is equally important to develop affordable housing that also builds household wealth and stability among current residents.
A Housing Needs Assessment for the Mahoning Valley was prepared by Greater Ohio Policy Center of Columbus and released in January 2025 by Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. It defined cost-burdened residents as those who spend more than 30% of their monthly income on housing. In Mahoning and Trumbull counties, about 17% of homeowners and nearly half of renters are cost burdened.
The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio recently released its 2026 Gap Report, an assessment of the state’s affordable housing availability. Among extremely low-income households, COHHIO says there are 37 available units per 100 renters in Mahoning County. In Trumbull County, the ratio is 35 to 100. Also, extremely low-income renters are those who spend more than half of their income on housing. Two-thirds of extremely low-income renters in Mahoning County and three-fourths in Trumbull County fall into this category.
Housing quality matters as well. Within the housing needs assessment, one of every four households reported issues with a combination of incomplete kitchens, incomplete plumbing, costs exceeding 30% of monthly income or too many people sharing space.
These pressures take a toll on the local workforce. Cost-burdened household members also confront food insecurity, experience stress, forego medical care and struggle academically.
The positive impacts of job growth and successful workforce development programs will be muted without a community-wide, housing-for-all stance.
Data and curiosity are driving the local conversation about housing needs.
An absence of starter homes at modest prices has been noted by many local officials, while insufficient supply and interest rates slow their constituents’ ascent as homeowners. Veterans’ income can exceed limits for subsidized housing and also be insufficient for most private-rate pricing.
When empty nesters have choices to move into senior living developments, the homes they leave become opportunities for other families. In restoring balance to housing supply and demand, new construction methods are emerging as cost-controlling solutions. They deserve thorough reviews.
Housing discussions at the crossroads of economic and community development are not unique to us. Ohio Sen. Michele Reynolds of Canal Winchester, chair of the Ohio Senate Housing Committee, shared her viewpoint recently during a COHHIO advocacy briefing.
“What I am encouraged about is that it’s not just an affordable housing issue,” she said. “Now it’s an economic issue, and we’re starting to see that the business community cares. We’re starting to see that people care for workforce development reasons. We care for our education … the posterity of our kids growing up and staying here in Ohio. There’s a lot of different reasons to care.”
Let’s rewrite the opening sentence. Community development propels economic development. Read it in reverse, too, as our Valley moves forward.
