"Meadville deserves nice things": Rethinking Possibility in a "Rust Belt" Town

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The Small Cities Lab began its visit to Northwestern Pennsylvania in Meadville, a city of roughly 12,000 residents. During the visit, the team documented and surveyed existing conditions, and met with a range of local stakeholders, including city staff, Crawford County planners, and representatives from housing nonprofits, downtown revitalization groups, and community land trusts.

After the visit, we continued the conversation with Meadville’s Community Development Director, Renna Wrubleski.

Renna spoke with enthusiasm about the community’s efforts to breathe new life into historic buildings, highlighting active and well-maintained spaces such as local shops, a theater, and the Meadville Market House.

“What’s really unique about our community is something like the Market House, being a publicly owned market…it really anchors our community,” explains Renna Wrubleski, Community Development Director of the city. “It’s gone through so many changes over its 155 years. It shows the enduring nature of our community but also how we’ve been able to move forward and progress.”

When you walk through downtown Meadville, you’ll notice a city in transition. On one side, nearing the former industrial buildings on the city’s western fringe, there’s the newer 1970s-style development. Here the downtown mall severs the central business district from its surrounding green spaces – an example of how many planned developments disconnected cities and downtowns from their natural landscape

The newer developments adjacent to Meadville's older downtown reflect the gradual, ongoing transformation from the city’s industrial past.

As the city evolves, housing capacity remains an issue for residents.Single-family homes make up most of the housing in Meadville. Many owners subdivided these homes into multi-unit dwellings to meet rising demand. From the outside, they maintain their single-family appearance, but inside, many hold two, three, or even four units.

The homes in the northern part of town near Allegheny College tend to be larger, better maintained, and owner-occupied, unlike the blighted properties concentrated on the southern part of the city.

Nearly 70% of all households in the city are renter-occupied, and Meadville residents are feeling the pressure. They are concerned about housing availability as the city looks to attract new jobs and retain young people. Current residents are already dealing with a limited number of well-maintained housing options so the idea of accommodating a growing population feels increasingly out of reach. In response, Meadville has adopted a Housing Action Plan to actively explore redevelopment opportunities to create a more sustainable path forward.

Despite the challenges, Meadville also offers something that many larger cities don’t: the opportunity for young people to contribute early on in their professional careers.

“I don’t think I would’ve had the chance to do such substantial and meaningful work so early in my career if I wasn’t in Meadville,” says Renna. “Small cities and towns, if you’re involved and active, can breed a strong sense of belonging.”

That sense of possibility, and the ability to play an active role in shaping the community, is part of what’s keeping a new generation invested in Meadville. There’s room to contribute, to imagine, and to re-shape what the future might look like.

Still, the city grapples with a familiar challenge: a lingering narrative of decline.

“Like other towns that have lost population over the years you kind of internalize this perception that we’re a bit behind the times,” Renna says. “People’s idea of what is possible becomes limited.”

While Meadville has experienced population decline, particularly among younger adults, that trend has begun to stabilize. Renna said part of the change lies in a growing shift in mindset.

“What I think could be better,” Renna adds, “is the sense of what is possible for us and being imaginative and creative about our future.”

That shift is already underway. Local government, nonprofits, cooperatives, and land trusts are already working together across the city to create new solutions.

Crawford County Fair