And Furthermore....
Amid all the yap about how Cleveland will never be New York or San Francisco or Wherever, it's important to remember that New York and San Francisco and Wherever were not always what they are now.
I've been doing a little bit of reading in preparation for my trip to everyone's favorite walkable, sustainable, progressive place: Portland. And lo and behold, right here on page 4 of The Insiders' Guide to Portland, Oregon (2nd ed.) I learn that:
"After the world wars, Portland thrived, but by the late 60s the city was faced with serious economic problems."
Sounds familiar. I read on:
"Due to environmental concerns and international competition, its economy, dependent on timber and Pacific fisheries, spiraled downward. The decline of these two major industries affected secondary service and retail businesses."
OK, I'm getting it, replace timber and fish with steel, and you get the Cleveland Story. But here's what they had that we don't - A Plan (that worked):
"In 1973, the city council and planners came up with the Downtown Plan, a vision that reinvigorated local retail, housing, entertainment, and government. A westside freeway was torn down [I know, isn't this ERIE-ly familiar?] and redirected...and [a Waterfront park] was built along the edge of the Willamette River. Other major changes that dynamically rearranged Portland were a downtown transit mall...light rail connecting to the outerEastside and Pioneer Square, and a central open space for community events."
In Cleveland, there's a ton of infighting about what the Plan should be (I know, I really have to tell you that, right?). Do we have gambling, tear down the Shoreway, build yuppie condos downtown, sink Whiskey Island, fill in the lake with a giant parking lot, what? I give the Planning Commission credit, because even though I don't agree with all of their ideas, they are dealing with the biggest group of change-hating contrarians ever to descend from the trees (and even convincing them to try out the ground for a change was hard.) I know because I am one. So is my dear friend Kevin, a fellow ex-pat, who will come home and drive around and see that an old favorite pizza place is gone and indignantly declare, "I don't acknowledge this change!"
It takes a lot of bravery and spirit to get past that. Even for someone like me, who wants to see Cleveland get better (I always had an odd sentimental attachment to the Shoreway). But the smartest and most reflective among us can do it. We need a plan, a good plan, a plan that doesn't feel like it's leaving people out or displacing them or plugging in a random yuppie here and there and calling that progress. A single, encompassing plan instead of lots of little mini projects whose edges will undoubtedly come together in discordant and destructive ways.
I'm going to spend some time thinking about what my plan would be, if I were king of the forest. Are you up to that challenge?
I've been doing a little bit of reading in preparation for my trip to everyone's favorite walkable, sustainable, progressive place: Portland. And lo and behold, right here on page 4 of The Insiders' Guide to Portland, Oregon (2nd ed.) I learn that:
"After the world wars, Portland thrived, but by the late 60s the city was faced with serious economic problems."
Sounds familiar. I read on:
"Due to environmental concerns and international competition, its economy, dependent on timber and Pacific fisheries, spiraled downward. The decline of these two major industries affected secondary service and retail businesses."
OK, I'm getting it, replace timber and fish with steel, and you get the Cleveland Story. But here's what they had that we don't - A Plan (that worked):
"In 1973, the city council and planners came up with the Downtown Plan, a vision that reinvigorated local retail, housing, entertainment, and government. A westside freeway was torn down [I know, isn't this ERIE-ly familiar?] and redirected...and [a Waterfront park] was built along the edge of the Willamette River. Other major changes that dynamically rearranged Portland were a downtown transit mall...light rail connecting to the outerEastside and Pioneer Square, and a central open space for community events."
In Cleveland, there's a ton of infighting about what the Plan should be (I know, I really have to tell you that, right?). Do we have gambling, tear down the Shoreway, build yuppie condos downtown, sink Whiskey Island, fill in the lake with a giant parking lot, what? I give the Planning Commission credit, because even though I don't agree with all of their ideas, they are dealing with the biggest group of change-hating contrarians ever to descend from the trees (and even convincing them to try out the ground for a change was hard.) I know because I am one. So is my dear friend Kevin, a fellow ex-pat, who will come home and drive around and see that an old favorite pizza place is gone and indignantly declare, "I don't acknowledge this change!"
It takes a lot of bravery and spirit to get past that. Even for someone like me, who wants to see Cleveland get better (I always had an odd sentimental attachment to the Shoreway). But the smartest and most reflective among us can do it. We need a plan, a good plan, a plan that doesn't feel like it's leaving people out or displacing them or plugging in a random yuppie here and there and calling that progress. A single, encompassing plan instead of lots of little mini projects whose edges will undoubtedly come together in discordant and destructive ways.
I'm going to spend some time thinking about what my plan would be, if I were king of the forest. Are you up to that challenge?
posted by Christine Borne at 10:53 AM
4 Comments:
Plan? A plan? I honestly think Ohio is too far into a death spiral to pull out of it. Governor Bob "Mr. Dithers" Taft in Columbus surely ensures that.
Was not the Gateway Development plan which brought us things like Jacobs Field, Gund Arena, and the Rock Hall supposed to have been the big plan to revitalize downtown? I was still a Cleveland resident in good ol' Slavic Village (back when there still was a Slavic population and Worsted Mills still stood before its big triple five-alarm fire) then and remember that Gateway was supposed to save things and revitalize downtown. Where are the results?
While Nero might have fiddled while Rome burned Ohioans dither and argue while things fall apart. Before any redevelopment plans anywhere in the state start to be pushed perhaps first and foremost we need to work on community identity across the state. With as many argumentative rugged individualists as Ohio has frankly plans for good are difficult to find backing for. If we do not have any sense of identity, shared values, or common goals as Ohioans steps forward will be quite impossible. That can otherwise be considered the step of preheating an oven before putting something in (like a redevelopment plan) to cook.
Ooooh, Portland! Great choice. They've done a very good job, from what I've seen on my brief visits.
Shalom Christine,
David Beach at EcoCity Cleveland has been talking about the Portland model for more than 10 years, but few people listen. I know several people in Portland who were part of this process.
You're right, all it needs is vision and a plan.
B'shalom,
Jeff
The new photo is great, by the way.
thanks jeff... i think this new photo more accurately reflects my personality. my mom will be the first to tell you how utterly rare it is to find a picture of me where i'm actually smiling...
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