From: Sammy Catania
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To:
ohiocity [at] yahoogroups [dot] com
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"TREMONT HAS FOUND A RECIPE FOR ECONOMIC GAIN BY COURTING THE UPSCALE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY"..
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The two most critical components of vibrant urban neighborhoods are QUALITY OF PLACE and jobs.
Neighborhoods that thrive in the 21st century will be those that can offer INVITING opportunities to "LIVE WORK AND PLAY"
Cleveland's neighborhoods that have managed to hold onto jobs and that have developed or maintained an attractive sense of place will most certainly have the best chance for growth and sustainability.
Neighborhoods in distress will continue to suffer and decline without a comprehensive plan to leverage distinctive assets.
The Greater University Circle Initiative offers significantly distressed surrounding neighborhoods such as Fairfax, Glenville and Hough the "last best chance" for turning the corner on urban decay by leveraging the considerable
assets nearby.
In addition to offering potential residents unique, engaging quality of place, University Circle's cultural, medical and educational institutions represent the fastest-growing employment base in Northeast Ohio. University Circle institutions have shown themselves to be powerful economic engines with the potential to generate opportunity for all residents and jolt dying neighborhoods back to life.
However, lack of trust, respect, collaboration and understanding can choke off even the most powerful
economic generator.
Cleveland neighborhoods must also recognize that the road to recovery is a long one. Reforming education, replatting communities and building assets take time – and will require broad-scale support.
"Everyone has a stake in this," Johnson says. "It didn't get bad overnight and it's not going to get fixed overnight."
Some institutions have already been at this work for a number of years. For example, the Saint Luke's Foundation has invested heavily in the Mount Pleasant and Buckeye-Shaker neighborhoods, providing leadership and support to help
improve the health and well-being of individuals and families.
This ongoing neighborhood- based outreach program defines "healthy communities" AS THOSE THAT PROMOTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, educational excellence and an attractive living environment. Such commitment on the part of key neighborhood stakeholders will be necessary to restore the vitality and social capital of distressed neighborhoods.
Although the revitalization efforts going on in University Circle may provide the best model for retooling Cleveland's neighborhoods to thrive in the 21st century, these efforts also demonstrate the considerable cost and effort
necessary to connect long-distressed neighborhoods to renewed economic opportunity.
Other pockets of current and potential exist throughout the city:
TREMONT HAS FOUND A RECIPE FOR ECONOMIC GAIN BY COURTING THE UP-SCALE RESTAURANT
INDUSTRY
The St. Clair- Superior neighborhood stands to capture significant employment
opportunities and other benefits if the Cleveland-
Cuyahoga County Port Authority relocates to the East 55th Street Marina.
Detroit-Shoreway is building around its arts district.
Each of these illustrate that quality of place, or the potential for it, tends
to be determined by A NEIGHBORHOODS ANCHORING INSTITUTIONS OR AMENITIES... .
THE GRIM REALITY FOR CLEVELAND IS THAT NEIGHBORHOODS LACKING SUCH AMENITIES WILL CONTINUE TO FACE SERIOUS SURVIVAL CHALLENGES
In general, these weak neighborhoods that have no connection to Cleveland's powerful nodes of medical, educational, cultural and industrial establishments DO NOT represent good prospects for reinvestment.
The limited resources of Re-imagining Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County land bank and other renewal efforts would be better spent in neighborhoods with better odds for long-term survival, including job creation and economic impact.
There is no "miracle cure" for the chronic wasting disease threatening Cleveland and its neighborhoods. There is no quick fix.
In fact, Krumholz, Rokakis and Anoliefo see IMPROVING THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS THE ONLY REAL CURE FOR ENDING THE CITY'S ONGOING DECLINE.
"If I were king, my answer to Cleveland's problem would be education," Krumholz says. "I wouldn't spend any money on a Med Mart, sports arenas, moving the port, would try to get the people of the city educated.
I would … treat EDUCATION as economic development, which it is."
[ohiocity] A REGIMEN FOR RENEWED VITALITY---excerpts from Policy Bridge Neighborhood Report
Saturday, October 17, 2009 5:32 AM