Book
Rust in My Blood
Planning for Urban Population Decline
November 2026, English
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How can shrinking cities help their residents thrive? Rust in My Blood: Planning for Urban Population Decline explores why America’s postindustrial cities have tended to focus on rebounding at all costs, and how they can make strategic decisions that prioritize quality of life over population growth instead. Combining personal storytelling with case studies, author Joanna Ganning—a planning professor and native of West Virginia—advances theory (including in some controversial areas), offers practical strategies for professionals, and meaningfully connects lived experiences with scholarship. Includes case studies of Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Gary, Indiana, and Charleston, West Virginia; personal vignettes emphasize why these cities matter beyond their postindustrial economies, especially to the people who live in and continue to love them. Written for general audiences, planning practitioners, and classroom use.
About the Author
Joanna Ganning is an associate professor in the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. She earned a PhD in Regional Planning at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses quantitatively on the economic development narratives of contemporary U.S. communities marginalized by location or population loss, with the goal of enhancing the quality of life for everyone.
Reviews
“An essential read for planners working in legacy cities! Ganning pulls no punches in exhorting city officials and residents to stop striving for growth and instead focus on improving the quality of life for people who live in the city. She shows how this might be implemented in four legacy cities with varied histories through an engaging mix of scholarly analysis and stories from her personal experience.”
— Margaret Dewar, Professor Emerita of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Michigan
“Rust in My Blood is a timely and thought-provoking challenge to one of urban planning’s most deeply held assumptions: that a city’s success is measured by population growth. Joanna Ganning offers a compelling new vision for postindustrial cities—one that embraces change, puts people at the center, and recognizes that vibrant communities can be built without chasing growth at any cost. Insightful, practical, and deeply human, this is an important book for anyone who cares about the future of America’s legacy cities.”
– Matt Zone, former longtime member of Cleveland City Council; 2017 President of the National League of Cities
“Rust in My Blood is an important and engaging narrative about the past trends, current conditions, and future prospects of legacy cities. Ganning’s case studies offer keen insights into the physicality of population shrinkage, economic stagnation, and housing unit decline, but she introduces this information in a way that engages the reader beautifully, exploring reasons for decline as well as practical possibilities for the future. Well illustrated with realistic photographs and interwoven with engaging stories, this book promises to be of great help for those who seek realistic ways to plan for the future of America’s legacy cities.”
– June Manning Thomas, Professor Emerita of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Michigan
“With an invaluable perspective for urbanists everywhere, Joanna Ganning calls on legacy cities to meet complex metropolitan dynamics with authentic solutions. This approach anchors the ambition of planners, public officials, policymakers, educators, students, activists, and advocates with a realistic framework for resilience that may just be the blueprint for the 21st century legacy city.”
— Chris Ronayne, Cuyahoga County Executive, Former Cleveland Planning Director