North Canton, Ohio

NORTH CANTON, OHIO groundwork for future community planning. The new strategy for the city was economic diversity. Today, the top employers in North Canton are Walsh University, the North Canton City School District, and its hospitals and medical providers. Along with these larger institutions, the city has worked to encourage small businesses. “We’re really a small business community,” says De Orio. With the election of Mayor Wilder in 2019, the city doubled down on its efforts to promote and develop its small businesses. Employing a new strategy of land banking, North Canton has set itself on a course for growth. Land banking has gained popularity for suburban and sub-rural municipalities in the wake of the 2007 economic crisis, and low interest rates have enabled such initiatives to thrive. “Land banking, to us, means acquiring properties so that we can redevelop them to a higher and better use,” says De Orio. “The North Canton business district is comprised of a lot of small parcels with a lot of small, older buildings that aren’t as conducive to