Tracy Gosson, former head of Live Baltimore and now consultant to York City, suggested that York City give up on attracting surrounding suburbanites and instead woo urbanites from nearby big cities. While her strategy seems logical, it shows a lack of basic economic understanding.

We know that the York area as a whole is growing - in fact, the U.S. Census Bureau called it the fastest-growing metro area in the Northeast. This growth is due to migration north from Maryland, primarily to escape high housing costs, high taxes and high-density development. Will these current migrants locate their dream conditions in York City? Probably not.

While the county is surging, the city lags. This is not news to anyone reading this article. The Census Bureau reports that the county grew 10 percent from 2000 to 2006 while the city's population continued to decline. The county's median housing value doubles the city's median. And the city's poverty rate triples the county's rate. These are just a few of the many stark realities facing York's neighborhoods.

Big city dwellers are used to these realities. So why not target them? York City has (comparatively) nothing to offer current residents of Baltimore and D.C. Why do people live in these big cities? Jobs! And while suburban Marylanders may be willing to drive an extra half-hour for greater quality of life, urban residents of Baltimore and D.C. will not tolerate long commutes. They live in their

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cities expressly to avoid them. And believe me - the daily commute from York to D.C. is brutal. Baltimore succeeded in attracting D.C. residents because of the MARC train connecting Baltimore with D.C.'s jobs.

York lacks both big-city jobs and transportation lines. So why not suggest that York modify Ms. Gosson's strategy and instead court residents of Lancaster, Harrisburg or other similar central Pennsylvania cities? Once again, York has little to offer. York is not the hub of state government or commuter trains heading east to Philadelphia.

I'm quick to dismiss this strategy, but am I bold enough to offer alternatives? Or should we just give up on York City? As a former resident of the York area, proud graduate of York College, and current scholar of urban policy, I believe I can offer some comparative, though terribly modest, insights.

For starters, York needs to further cultivate its post-industrial economy. York Hospital's expansion is a great start, but only a start, at competing for Baltimore's biomedical workers. With a quarter of all jobs still in the manufacturing sector, York is clinging to the industrial past - and will likely go the way of the dinosaur Detroits. Baltimore, on the other hand, has a quarter of its positions in healthcare and less than a tenth in manufacturing. York's manufacturing base won't last forever.

Next, York should do more to bolster its character as a historic destination, akin to its well-known Civil War neighbor to the west. Marketing refurbished historic homes in the city as an alternative to look-alike condos may also play well with those lamenting county sprawl and the destruction of green places.

Finally, York needs to develop a comprehensive strategy to tackle poverty, housing and crime. Just like the high-paid consultants, I will conveniently avoid expanding on this point. But I will agree with Ms. Gosson that young urbanites care much less about these problems than suburban families. Many American cities - like my adopted homes of Baltimore and now Louisville, Ky. - have stabilized or even grown in the face of these distinctly urban problems. If downtown York can become a true employment and nightlife center, these won't matter as much.

I apologize if my suggestions sound naive or out of step with York's present condition - I am young and, like many of her youth, have moved away from the area to a bigger city in another region. Maybe one day I'll come back to you as a consultant, suggesting more impossible reforms and this time charging a steep fee. Until then, save your money.

P.S. To former consultant Mr. Rusk: City-county mergers don't work. As we've seen here in Louisville, consolidation dilutes the minority population and shifts more power to suburban interests.

Former York resident, Joshua Ambrosius is a Ph.D. Fellow in urban affairs at the University of Louisville.