Things that could be done to improve Cleveland? (Lorain, Euclid: section 8, 2010)

[CTownNative]

What are some things that could be done that you think could help to improve the City of Cleveland?I'll start off by saying what I think could help the city.I think they should get rid of Burke Lakefront Airport and clean up the area where it is and build a whole new neighborhood on the Lakefront.I've heard doing something like that would cost alot of money,but I think in the long run it could be a big plus for the city.They should start working on getting the medical mart there,that would attract people from all around the country to the city.They need to reduce crime and poverty in the city,and work on diversifying the economy.Right now the economy in Northeast Ohio is struggling badly.All of Northeast Ohio revolves around Cleveland,so until Cleveland's economy gets better the whole area will continue to struggle.

[costello_musicman]

This was posted before:

Quote:

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.

[1watertiger]

this idea is drastic. people always mention crime, poor quality of life and not enough police right ? what if we called in the national gaurd to go house by house, block by block to serve outstanding warrants that cleveland cannot keep up with. take drug dealers off the street as they appear. walk elderly to the stores, watch over playgrounds and get ideas from the law abiding/hard working people who want real change. work hand in hand with the police. maintain a pressence by foot patrols. i know it sounds crazy but everything this city has tried is either to little to late like a bandaid on a shark bite....... at the same time keep developing bio-med field,wind energy(windmill farms) and use our fresh water to entice companies to move here.

[costello_musicman]

Originally Posted by 1watertiger

this idea is drastic. people always mention crime, poor quality of life and not enough police right ? what if we called in the national gaurd to go house by house, block by block to serve outstanding warrants that cleveland cannot keep up with. take drug dealers off the street as they appear. walk elderly to the stores, watch over playgrounds and get ideas from the law abiding/hard working people who want real change. work hand in hand with the police. maintain a pressence by foot patrols. i know it sounds crazy but everything this city has tried is either to little to late like a bandaid on a shark bite....... at the same time keep developing bio-med field,wind energy(windmill farms) and use our fresh water to entice companies to move here.

Tiger, the problem isn't "good guy vs bad guy" or not even enough police (which is still being increased though)--it really is the ingrained culture that has evolved since the 70's and 80's that needs to be undone. For example, in the Cleveland city limits, only 12% of Black households have both biological parents in the family, that's right, 12%. In the 1940's it was over 90%. From everything I've encountered, the root of the problem seems to be linked to Section 8 (if anyone doesn't know what this means: let's say your rent is $950 a month. If you make below a certain salary and apply for aid, the government will pay like $700 of it as help, or Section 8--which usually leads to lack of motivation to make more money if you're going to have to end up using your own money anyway and losing the aid) and the old "projects". Much of my family was from the original Woodland and Kinsman areas; the projects built in those areas were one of the final reasons many of them moved to Mayfield Hts, Cleveland Hts. etc. Not to mention, the projects themselves are terrible for anyone to live in anyway.

But seriously, you would want soldiers on the street with you...on your tree lawn?? As a happy resident of Cleveland, I would probably move if it ever even came close to that point. It has to someone come from within in many of these areas--outside help can only do so much.

Cleveland though has been making strides in retaking many of its neighborhoods--more in the last 5 years than in the last 20 for most parts. For example, the news townhomes in Tremont, the gentrification of Ohio City and Tremont, the huge amount of new homes in Battery Park, Woodhaven near the Clinic between Chester and Euclid, Woodland and 40th area, even many of the old mansions around UC have been redone in the last two years, and finally all the downtown housing being built or renovated, which has averaged an increase of population of about 20% a year, with a HUGE boom ready to come.

Of course the national foreclosure crisis was a punch in the face for the region, but Cleveland seems like its going to recover a little faster that the rest of the nation since it hit here a little earilier.

[BelieveInCleve]

First off: Many people will always look at the negatives, but there is a lot of positives about the city that very few other major cities can compete with. We have 3 major sports teams (along with other minor teams, and the hockey team) and all of them are doing good right now. We have Lebron James. We have tons of great museums and a world-class orchestra. We have a very good Mass Transit system, and its expanding. Euclid Ave. is being revivied and will soon make thousands of jobs for the city. We have Cleveland Clinic (one of the top 5 best hospitals in the country, and it also brought 25,000 jobs to Cleveland. We have great airports. We have a diverse landscape, and tons of different kinds of neighborhoods. We have a very diverse population, which includes one of the largest African-American communities in the country, and also a large Hispanic (especially Puerto Rican) population in Cleveland and Lorain. We have very diverse weather (good or bad) that can go from 15 degrees in the winter to 95 degrees in the summer.

Things I think that can be done to improve Cleveland are: We still need to get more jobs. Find a way to lower the crime rate and the dropout rate (some of the highest in the country). We need to improve our neighborhoods and improve the Resident-Police relationship in the city. Most of the improvements need to be done to the central city and inner ring suburbs. Most of all we need the city to grow, attract people to Cleveland.

[Traveler87]

Great posts all around. Makes me proud to live in Cleveland. We have so much to offer here. What can Cleveland do? Alot of things honestly. But tell me, what major city isn't looking to make themselves look better in one way or another?

I would like to see Burke Airport go. A convention center on the lakefront, and more highrises go up downtown. These things can be coming soon though. Cleveland has an extensive lakefront plan, something that will rival Chicago's. Cleveland already has the second best lakefront of any Midwest city. Cleveland has a growing and diverse economy. The Cleveland Clinic is one of the best hospitals in the world. This is not my opinion only, this has been voted numerous times. The tech field is really taking off in this city.

We are home to numerous fortune 500 companies. The largest law firm in the world is based here. Great looking skyline. Great beaches. Great suburbs. One of the fastest growing downtown populations in the country. New sports stadiums, three sports teams. It takes a big market to support that. Playhouse Square, second largest arts district in the country after Broadway. One of the tallest skyscrapers in the country. We have a growing and diverse popualtion. A national park only minutes from downtown. A great public transportation system. One of the top 15 most ridden public transportation systems in the country. Over 4.3 billion dollars has been put into downtown recently.

Cleveland was not given new nicknames like "America's New City", "The Comeback City" for nothing. Cleveland is changing for the better, and 2010 not only looks great for Ohio, but Cleveland looks fantastic for the next decade.

[CTownNative]

If you look at some of my old posts you'll see how I siad Cleveland is a bad city.I didn't mean its all around bad.I just meant it has some problems with poverty,crime,and the economy.Im from Northeast Ohio,and I think it is a great area with alot of great things to offer.I am proud to say that I am from Euclid Ohio.I just hope they improve Cleveland.As I siad its a great place,and it could be even better.The main thing that needs to improve is the economy.When that improves people will definetly move to Cleveland in the thousands.As for me right now Im not living in Cleveland.I live in Colorado Springs,Colorado.I love both cities.Im in a tough situation because I can never make up my mind on which city I would eventually like to settle down in.I lived in the Cleveland area for most of my life,and I've lived in Colorado for the last three years.I think in the end all eventually end up back in Cleveland.Cleveland is in my blood.

[ryanek9freak]

Cleveland is ok, and has a thriving music scene, which Is what i'll miss the most. I really think that they need to improve upon the overall look of the city. Especially the warehouse district. And the flats, as those areas look like hell anymore.

[costello_musicman]

Originally Posted by ryanek9freak

Cleveland is ok, and has a thriving music scene, which Is what i'll miss the most. I really think that they need to improve upon the overall look of the city. Especially the warehouse district. And the flats, as those areas look like hell anymore.

The Warehouse District? When was the last time it looked better than it does today, the 1920's??

I can remember going down to the flats to party as recent as 3 years ago, before wolstein knocked 80% of it down for his soon-to-be mega project. Everything seems to be full throttle ahead for him now that the remaining buildings have been approved for demo.

Here's a link to a lot of the pro jects going in cleveland right now:
CLEVELAND | Project Rundown - SkyscraperPage Forum

Sooooo.....now back on topic (sorry, I felt like I had to say something).

[UK Wildcat]

This has been a very encouraging post to read. My family and I will be relocating this spring due to my wifes job (healthcare). I knew nothing about Cleveland and have no association with the city. As I researched, it appeared that there was a lot to do with low cost of living. Being an outsider looking in, Cleveland looked like a fun place to live. I was surprised to see so many negative comments, that it became deflating. This thread supports what I have observed from an outsider looking in. Where else can you have so much to do, with so little cost of living?