Abstract

The article discusses the role of automotive production in shaping the built environment on multiple levels. While globalization has changed automotive business decision-making (for example, the current model is driven by supply chain management, just-in-time inventories, and external, non-production related factors like tax laws, etc.), the effects of these business decisions are felt in a profoundly local way. This article investigates the Toledo Jeep Parkway in Ohio. In existence for over 100 years, the auto plant was established in 1910 to produce Willys-Overland vehicles, but has been more well-known for its production of Jeeps since the 1940s. This article highlights the complex relationship that exists between the restructuring of the automotive industry and the physical re-structuring that occurs at the level of the neighborhood and the city, which has a profound influence on the morphology of the locale. Also examined are the five dimensions for repurposing the former Jeep manufacturing site and the role of local government with its growing dependence on outside expertise, making it increasingly vulnerable to the demands of manufacturers seeking a location. Toledo has had a special relationship with automotive manufacturing, but its once-thriving manufacturing base is now in steep decline and is often referred to as “rustbelt city” or “shrinking city.” Within this context, the article concludes with an assessment of an alternative model comprised of ten design strategies, all designed to help civic leaders by highlighting the positions that can be considered for future planning.