In an effort to not have a bunch of Cleveland based design links on the sidebar of this thing (mostly because I will eventually re-template this site and am trying to slim this thing down) I have joined forces with other opinionated design jerkfaces whom care about Cleveland and its lecherous image.
Here is the link to Cleveland Design City which will hopefully fulfill all your fantasies and whet your thirst for creation.
Naw. Just a collection of interesting things to look at and some good sources to gather information.
Then, when this post is long buried and forgotten like that teddy bear you used to hide behind for protection in the dark, told all your secrets to and loved with all your heart that you eventually grew out of and left to battle the dank and darkness of a cold corrugated box alone you can just click on the hot little link to the left.
and immediately hated it. I don't know if its because I found the thought of taking such a horribly ugly term such as leading edge and attempting to make it even harsher and more strange somewhat abhorrent. Anyway, I think that when I heard that term it was somehow related to "green design", more specifically, alternative energy production.
Not that I heard that term muttered once in Wednesday's local NPR affiliate (WCPN 90.3FM) morning show the Sound of Ideas when the spotlight was on Northeast Ohio's floundering thrust to harness it's potential and dabble in the field of alternative energy generation.
Don't misunderstand, I am all for alternative energy and actually believe that Northeast Ohio has the natural resources, the industrial "know how", the ambition and perhaps even the fiscal means to become "bleeding edge".
I just believe we lack the political will. That's right, I said it, we lack the political will to push forth a conscious effort to accomplish anything so "grand". It may stem from fear of making mistakes, of pushing forward an agenda that others may dare disagree with or perhaps just an utter sense of ignorance related to thinking about the region on such a scale. And I don't want to seem to be pointing fingers, it is just that if "everyone" is thinking that this is such a "great idea" and that it "makes so much sense" and that "it is so simple, it just may work" then why, for the love of all things good, are we still in the "preliminary talking stage".
I don't know why I am so "quote heavy" right now, I think I may just be tired and frustrated.
In what can only be construed as downright genius Grist Magazine has decided to approach the whole "how can I be green?" angle from an entirely different point of view. One that can speak to the underpaid, grossly in debt majority like me.
Introducing Ask A Broke-ass, an entire (future) series on how to live more green without spending copious amounts of cash altering your already fantastic lifestyle.
"it's better to be broke than to further the break-up of the Arctic ice shelf."
How true, how true indeed.
Read along with me now.
A couple of days ago the New York Times published an article ripe with urban hope and lore, America's relearning of streetcar lovin'. Citing examples of urban population growth and renewal Haya el Nasser paints a vivid portrait of streetcars battling the automotive enemy and becoming the hope and liberator of the people.
I, for one, am to agree.
I am deeply smitten by my train ride to and fro the office each day, sitting in relative comfort, able to read some no doubt self inflating diatribe about what cities and art should be whilst my only concern is not to miss my place of disembarkment. Back and forth all for the low low price of half of what parking for the day would be had I employed my aluminum coffin.
How else could I witness the city explode from behind the hills, towering over the mighty Cuyahoga as it winds its way south under bridges, around factories and vacant lots, glorious in their destitution? I would never have seen the sun come out from behind the clouds, or the rather interesting and beautiful graffiti had I driven, my eyes only focused on the bumper of the person in front of me, breaking occasionally to make certain no one was barrelling down upon me. I highly doubt I would be able to witness a home get boarded up, look suddenly tired and sad and then watch as someone resides and repairs it for a new family. All this would be lost if I didn't take the train.
I wonder then what life would have been like had I moved to Portland, Oregon like my heart and begged of me all those years ago, back before I fell in love with the cruel potential of this city, back before I had envisioned myself wanting to take any effort to do good.
Portland is a wonderful city. Friendly people, varied beers, ocean, mountains, trees, an endless cascade of wonder to explore surrounded by only more wonder and cut through, running predictably like a soft beating heart is the light rail, a street car (free within the city) that quickly and cleanly whisks you from one side of town to another, across the mighty Willamette River that cleaves the city in twain.
Sort of how Cleveland is.
And that is when it hits me. Cleveland is a city divided. Neighborhoods on both sides are accessible but not with the ease of other major cities that have exploited the liability in a wondrous way. Imagine having not only a lakefront but two riverfronts! Multiple occurrences of shore-line life, man's endless connection to the water, our myriad fascination with the rhythm of the waves, sharing a strip of blue, both sides served by quick, clean and free (or at least cheap) people moving. How amazing would life be for us then?
I bring this up because the clock is ticking and ticking loudly. Possibly the largest urban renewal plan for Cleveland is in the works and everyone is paying attention and so far, I don't think many are impressed. We bit off a great deal when the Euclid Corridor Project began implementation and now all we can do is wait for another year and change.
And then what?
We will have a connection from Public Square to University Circle creating convenient access from downtown to the cultural center of the city. A street car of sorts (low slung buses count in my book even if they lack the romantic allure) will whisk people through what could become one of the most intensely sought after commercial routes in the city.
Fine. Great. I look forward to it, I really do.
But what about the rest of us?
The RTA Waterfront line serves the East Bank of the Flats, but what gets us to Tremont? To Ohio City, to the West Bank, to Cleveland Heights? What connects us all without the relentless transit changes, and the ugly rush hour traffic? What ties us all together?
One can only hope that the Silver Line will be a great success and will serve as a springboard for more intensive and far reaching transportation systems, knitting this large (at least in terms of area) city together into a more cohesive regional power.
I hope to be here for that day.
more fun links:
Euclid Corridor Project Website
HUD's Fair Housing FIRST Accessiblity Training
2007 01.25 8.30am to 4.30pm
Hilton Garden Inn Cleveland Downtown
1100 Carnegie Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44115
"Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST is an initiative designed to promote compliance with the Fair Housing Act design and construction requirements. The program offers comprehensive and detailed instruction programs, useful online web resources, and a toll-free information line for technical guidance and support."
They offer a variety of references and standards for housing design and construction and will be offering a training seminar on January 25th. Register here.
For those of you interested in accessible design especially for housing this information is a must.
I would also like to nod towards Bradley over at Design Rag for his take on Noblism in design.
In an effort to not have a bunch of Cleveland based design links on the sidebar of this thing (mostly because I will eventually re-template this site and am trying to slim this thing down) I have joined forces with other opinionated design jerkfaces whom care about Cleveland and its lecherous image.
