cleveland change ? (Euclid, Mayfield, Clifton: section 8, apartments, insurance)

[1watertiger]

what ideas/thoughts do the residents and busineses of cleveland have that will turn this city around ?

[BelieveInCleve]

The most important thing is that we get more jobs. The second thing is to convince people to move back into the city of Cleveland instead of the suburbs that keep moving farther and farther away from the urban core. Another thing that shouldnt matter that much but does matter a lot to Clevelanders is to win some kind of a championship.

The Cavs could have beat the Spurs but they didnt, it seemed like after we beat the Pistons most people were happy and didnt care about the finals. If the Indians had won one more game against the Red Sox theres no doubt in my mind that we could have beat the Rockies and won a world series. The Browns should have beat the Bengals and the Colts shouldnt have lost against the Titans. Then the browns would at least be in the playoffs. There is always something that keeps Clevelands teams from winning. It seems like as soon as we win one championship that all the people in the city will change their attitude for the better.

We also need to get the crime down because theres no way our population will increase if our city is in the top 10 most dangerous cities in the country. Almost all the other large cities have cut their crime down a lot. New York City had close to the lowest number of homicides on record. Not to mention all the other cities that cut their crime down.

[TheProf]

^Great posts, Cle & mikeg... all I can add is: I concur!

[MABCle]

Cleveland has jobs. In every sector other than manufacturing the number of jobs has grown. The problem is manufacturing is still bleeding jobs and the workers who are often low skilled can not find the same or similar low skilled work where they make the same wage in the jobs that are leaving. If you look at recent stats you'll see that medical related jobs and manufacturing constitute about the same percentage of the Cleveland economy. I'm sure banking may show a slight decrease in 2008, but overall government, healthcare, law, banking and insurance have made the Cleveland economy very diversified over the past 20 years. One example: # of workers Cleveland Clinic had in 1987: 3,300. Number in 2007: 36,000.

The city proper needs to step its game up in policing neighborhoods to reduce crime. I consider a police patrol, a true patrol only if the officers get out of their cars, walk the streets and get to know neighbors, from the elderly to the kids. This not only builds goodwill with community residents, but also lets wrongdoers know the police are out and watching you. It could be something as simple as that that can reduce crime.

Next employ a strategy to go neighborhood by neighborhood going after drug dealers and known crime ridden areas/street corners.
The city has stated it will agressively go after gun shops selling guns that are found to be used in crime in the city.

The schools while by and large aren't turned around yet, there are some success stories in certain schools and it seems the new SI is trying to develop choice schools throughout the district. Standardize test for eight graders continue to improve.

The city is currently host to about 3-4 billion in projects underconstruction/proposed. The Euclid corridor project will add vitality to Euclid and will make the strip more attractive to developers who wish to build condos and apartments for young professionals. If this project is successful, you could see Bus-rapid transit on Clifton Avenue on the West side.

Another major project in development is the arts and retail district at the corner of Ford/Mayfield/ Euclid. This will add a collegetown atmosphere around Case as well as more apartments, and the new Museum of contemporary art. On chester new condos are planned as well as a new building that will house new retail and apartments.

Cleveland leads the region in number of new home starts, i expect this to continue.

In downtown the Wolstein project, whose scope has recently been expanded and will now cost $400 million should show significant progression in 2008. The Stark project which will make downtown Cleveland more like SoHo in NYC should also show progression in '08 , if it is to open by 2011.

A medical mart and convention center need to happen in downtown.

[costello_musicman]

This post was from before. I don't know where it went, but it is definitely worry of reposting (I happened to save the website from before):

^^Good Post

I would also like to add to this. My idea is to expand on the positives the city has today, while pulling from the past a little bit (like the RRHOF was able to do). Since I'm not a marketing man, I will simply list what I see as the strengths, and hopefully someone else could build off them:

Present positives that could be expanded upon:
1) Cleveland Orchestra consistently ranked 3rd or 4th in the world.
2) Playhouse Square second largest performing arts sector in the US--behind only Broadway in NYC
3) Dense urban structure -- city feel
4) Sports fan Pride. Voted best sport's fan in the country by numerous sources (always in NFL polls)--sporting venues, etc
5) Nightlife - E.4th, W.6th, Little Italy, W.25th, Tremont, etc
6) Vast industrial infrastructure (current and potential use)
7) Medical mecca of the world! (at least one of the top five)
8) Fastest growing Bio-technology in the country--#1 in the midwest, mostly thanks to Bio-Enterprise's recruiting and results
9) The RTA system. (I know people will beg to differ.)
10) University Circle – which is thankfully going to be expanded soon.
11) Very, very cheap cost of living.
12) CWRU, Unversity Hospitals and other country leading research facilities.


Past that could be built on today:
1) Inventor of Superman! -- museum, giant artwork or something...next to Lebron maybe??
2) The Arcade—better promote it being the first indoor shopping mall in America.
3) Firsts: electric traffic signal, X-ray machine (and other medical devices), etc
4) Here another cool like for Cleveland’s firsts: Cleveland Firsts

Ideas for the future:
1) Better utilize the lakefront--everyone and their mother's idea.
2) Improve schools -- uniforms is actually a good start. Funding wise, there is enough money; it unfortunately has to come from role models and family values to do any better. Theories on that are endless, but Harlem maybe a good model to look at (I believe they started with preschools on up and had goals to get them into Harvard, Yale, etc and return back to the neighborhoods--it worked/is working).
3) I know this is a touchy subject, but I really wish Section 8 wasn't so ingrained into our cities expecting values. It really does lower work ethic, self-esteem, and expectance of government handouts (not to mention surrounding land value!), and it creates a cycle of accepting of that lifestyles and now no pride to take care of the properties--fueling so much more. I wish it could somehow be phased out, but again there has to be other idea people and a just cause.
4) Fresh new leaders--corruption will always be, I hope pride in the city will out rule it someday.
5) With the expanding technology research companies, why not utilize the cheap industrial space (and "cheap" labor, compared with the rest of the country), to produce renewable energy materials for the rest of the world...wind turbines, solar panels, etc. Check this out, maybe it has already started?:
German solar company plans HQ in Cleveland - Cleveland Business News – The Latest Breaking News, Earnings Reports and Stories from The Plain Dealer
6) I thought of this crazy idea today...Since a majority of Cleveland's community problems seem to be related to lack of both parents.family life...maybe the city city can do something to help revolutionize fixing this problem. My idea: (1)The city would give major tax breaks to couples who stayed married. Maybe even continue to increase reward as years progressed. Or, (2) give tax breaks or rewards to companies who reward married employees that live in the Cleveland city limits. Money always seems to be a good incentive and motivator...especially in a city like Cleveland.
7)Last but not least.....PD stop being so damn negative. I know negative stories sell, but geez—If we went 2 weeks with positive stories, I bet it would do wonders.