For many cities in the American Midwest, decaying steel and auto industries have pockmarked their neighborhoods with empty factories and miles of unusable brownfield land. This article showcases a study of the environmental history, as well as the socio-economic downturn that industry has played on Canton, Ohio. Specifically, it investigates the Southwest neighborhoods that were built in response to companies such as Timken and Republic Steel. Data for this research was primarily acquired through secondary sources, namely news articles or journals that relate to the subject matter. Both economic and environmental data relating to these industries are well publicized over the span of the last 30 years. The study reveals that not only have the residents of these neighborhoods suffered from a loss of work, services and property values, but also have faced environmental hazards over the years due to the close proximity to industrial sites. These actions have particularly resulted in the gradual decline and lack of support for this region in response to the closing and outsourcing of industrial work from Canton to other places in the United States and across the world.