It's the place, stupid! Placemaking as the Way to a Brighter Future

[ghettopalmetto]

If "sense of place" drove economies, than New Orleans, Detroit and Cleveland would be America's boomtowns, and Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta would be America's dying cities. Of course, the opposite is true.

Well, I know you'll find some way to casually dismiss this, but...

Last week, when I was in Cleveland, it was incredibly difficult to miss the restored Victorian homes and top-notch restaurants in Tremont, the throngs of young professionals enjoying nightlife in Ohio City, and the plethora of apartments and condos under construction on Euclid Avenue.

But I guess people are just wasting their time and money. We all know everyone REALLY wants to live in Strongsville, so why bother with options?

[Bham1982]

Last week, when I was in Cleveland, it was incredibly difficult to miss the restored Victorian homes and top-notch restaurants in Tremont, the throngs of young professionals enjoying nightlife in Ohio City, and the plethora of apartments and condos under construction on Euclid Avenue.

Not to single out your thoughts, but for some reason, many folks on DYes always conflate downtown vibrancy with overall city health.

Cleveland is a dying city. It has suffered about the same percentage loss as Detroit. From 2000 to 2010, Cleveland lost nearly 20% of its population.

I don't see how anyone can argue that Cleveland is a success story when its on track to be totally depopulated within 50 years.

[canuck]

Not to single out your thoughts, but for some reason, many folks on DYes always conflate downtown vibrancy with overall city health.

Cleveland is a dying city. It has suffered about the same percentage loss as Detroit. From 2000 to 2010, Cleveland lost nearly 20% of its population.

I don't see how anyone can argue that Cleveland is a success story when its on track to be totally depopulated within 50 years.

You are of course right again Bham. The attempt at restoring older downtowns and revitalizing cities is doomed to failure. We should however try in every way possible to multiply the newer exurban developments. Anything else is doomed to failure.

If we do multiply suburbs to infinity, we then recognize the uselessness of mass transit and rush headfirst in the direction of personal vehicle use and abandon all the connective features of a large city. That seems about the best thing to do. The only thing left for us to do. Anything else is doomed to failure.

[Bham1982]

You are of course right again Bham. The attempt at restoring older downtowns and revitalizing cities is doomed to failure. We should however try in every way possible to multiply the newer exurban developments. Anything else is doomed to failure.

I obviously support downtown revitalization efforts.

But I'm not prepared to say that a city is revitalized just because the downtown is supposedly full of life.

How can Cleveland be viewed as a success when it's emptying out at a frightening level?

I'm not even sure that downtown Cleveland is particularly vibrant. No department stores, failed mall, almost no shopping, lots of empty and half-empty buildings. Yes, there's lots of restaurants and nightlife, but that, by itself, isn't going to fix a city.