Because we all LOVE tales of corruption...

I have to link to a very sensational article about Jimmy Dimora, a Cuyahoga County Commissioner who some are inferring might be shady. A government offical, shady? In Ohio? My heart can't take the news!

Still though, what are the consequences with the Breuer building? Oh, you haven't thought I forgot about that yet, have you?

Interesting Washington Post article.

And by interesting, I think I may mean severely flawed. I wish I felt well enough (I think I have a bug) to list all the problems that I have with this article (5 Myths About Suburbia and Our Car-Happy Culture).

I don't know if I take offense (or at least find questionable) the inference that public transportation is only for the poor and the handicapped, or the rehash of the infamous "statistic" that "If the nation were divided into four-person households and each household had an acre, everyone would fit in an area half the size of Texas." and that somehow that is the only way to account for how much automobile infrastructure is created (not accounting that if everyone did actually live in an area half the size of Texas there would be hell of a lot less roads).

Today has been a day of weird articles though. I might bring up a couple more. I might not. I'm a busy guy.

ASM, now is your chance to SHINE!

With all the current ruckus about the Cleveland Design District and ASM's moving some offices to said district, one can only wonder if there might be an opportunity to showcase design, production and industrial materials in such a manner as to engage the public.

Granted spatial considerations raise cost concerns and whether a pedestrian intensive area will actually be developed in said Design District could dampen dreams but in my heart of hearts (the very subcockles) I am hoping for some sort of interpretation and/or recreation of what Materia exhibitions are like. Actual material exhibitions where people can touch, examine and feel materials in order to increase exposure and hopefully create more interest in non-standard design techniques.

Granted I could be asking for the all the world with expectations such as this but I honestly see so much opportunity for the city, to become an actual design and material mecca (imagine fostering local industry by showcasing local materials!) that I cannot sit silently by.

I don't know. Is it too much to ask the ASM to stand up for something like this? Is this outside of their purview? Is someone else better fitted to the role such as CSU or CIA?

If you want to showcase the district, I can't thing of anything better then to create something that achieves international attention. Maybe I just don't know how to aim low enough yet but I won't apologize for something as silly as that.

Resource:
Material Explorer a fantastic free online materials resource with tons of great links.

Detroit Shoreway Update

Bradley over at Design Rag sent me a nice email pointing me towards the January 11th Lakefront Development Shoreway Committee presentation. It is a .pdf but not too big. Sure there are some pretty picture and maps in there and it does illustrate some of the intent but because it is only the powerpoint you cannot get the reasoning behind a lot of the illustrations and I fear that interpretation could go both ways.

I suppose I should just get my butt to a meeting or two.

Luckily they post times and locations way ahead of time.

Thanks, Bradley.

Debate over Lakefront/Shoreway Project

Currently it is beginning to appear that ODOT is having problems placating the constituents of Cleveland, Ohio. Currently the plan to develop the Detroit Shoreway (also known as the Lakefront/Shoreway Project) is under fire for proposing turning the 6 lane 55mph interstate zone to a 35mph boulevard in hopes of allowing Edgewater Park to grow. As a "west sider" who once had to transverse the Main Avenue bridge (see photo of blue bridge) in order to reach my far east side destination I was immediately repulsed by the idea of increasing my commute by an estimated 15 minutes. Now that I take the train and walk downtown the idea of creating a boulevard along the lake and allowing Edgewater to increase in size doesn't quite offend me so much.

To be fair, the argument that such a move would further isolate the West Side including the cities of Lakewood, Rocky River and Westlake are all rather valid but the plan would improve access to more of the West Side's inner ring suburbs along Detroit Ave. between W. 25th and West Boulevard (around W. 98th). That would open roughly 70 blocks of residential area to a greater ease of access to the city which would improve livability and Cleveland's tax base. That is if the creation of a boulevard does anything to ease access and can somehow cross the currently operating train lines that run parallel to and south of the Detroit Shoreway in a delicate and successful manner.

Rumor on the street is saying that only four new intersections would be placed on the Detroit Shoreway boulevard which shouldn't really increase commute time from the western suburbs, however the question then becomes whether those four intersections are enough to satisfy movement into the neighborhoods between W. 25th and W. 98th. One could almost surmise the need for Father Caruso Drive to act as a sort of Marginal Road to allow movement parallel to Detroit and the Detroit Shoreway without increasing traffic through the neighborhoods south of the tracks and disrupting development and safety there.

These leads to the study of the rail line south of the proposed boulevard. Would connections to the neighborhood have to tunnel beneath it? Would street crossing become the answer? Would a more important question become whether that rail line would better serve the community if it became a commuter rail line connecting Westlake, Rocky River, Lakewood and the West Cleveland innerbelt to downtown? This commuter rail could also allow for the created connection of a line that runs through the west bank of the flats, granting access to Wendy Park and the proposed developments along the river.

Wouldn't that be grand? An entire scheme that results in better connections for all the residents of the city and suburbs that would include forces to drive good development and possible start to instigate an urban nightlife downtown?

Maybe it would be.

Resources:
Plain Dealer article that instigated this entire thing

Cleveland Design Competitions - FUN!

Cleveland Design Competitions (who promised to create a very nice little image soon that I can use to link stuff to) has FINALLY posted their competition call for entries which I know that many have been waiting for (I sure have).

Actual web site that you can check out.

There is no excuse, NO EXCUSE

I apologize for my lack of postings. My computer at home died. Luckily I have an entire list handwritten of things to post about so let me try to get a handle on going-ons and start re-spreading the news.

What happens if Cleveland does develop a "design district"?

Design District: A Progress Report
Friday, January 26th, 2007
4.00 - 6.00pm
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs
Glickman-Miller Hall, Atrium

Well, for one, the amount of people wearing all black downtown will no doubt increase. Also investors in any coffee shop in the area will no doubt have increased returns. The non sarcastic part of me says that maybe Cleveland will start to attract some serious investment and clout from the region which can only mean good things in terms of tourism, jobs and amenities and that there might be a sudden injection of street life to liven up downtown. So how is the "design district" proposal currently going? Find out at this Fridays forum.

Resources:
District of Design website.

What We Grow Matters - Cleveland Botanical Gardens Symposium

A Taste for Change:
Sustainable Food Choices
Saturday, February 10, 2007
11030 East Boulevard
Cleveland, Ohio
8.30am - 4.30pm

Hosted by the Cleveland Botanical Gardens and Nature Center at Shaker Lakes this symposium hopes to address the sustainable growing organic and local food source movement and will feature an eco-farming, community gardening and health and diet, urban food activist panel.

Come and explore the deliciously complex world of careful and deliberate food selection. Mmmmm, food.


.pdf evite:

symposium%20%284%29.pdf

Cleveland makes headlines - positive

A recent positive article about the possibilities and potential of Cleveland (albeit with semi outdated accompanying photographs) recently surfaced in Architect Online Magazine, a trade publication.

There are some positive notions about amenities and growth and refers to Cleveland as a "hidden gem" I don't know if "hidden" is the word I would like to use. One would think that everyone would know about it by now. If you have the teim you might want to check it out.

Cleveland Design City webernet ring

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.

I once heard the term "bleeding edge"...

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.

Hard to sell savin' the world if you can't save some bucks too!

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.

What happens when all that glitters IS...silver?

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