Here is Cleveland’s approach to waterfront development: talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk.
(I just typed “talk” like twenty times before remembering that I could just copy and paste a string of them, by the way.)
True to form, Ideastream hosted a Cleveland Connects community conversation about our waterfront last night in conjunction with the Plain Dealer and PNC bank — more talking! “Sound of Ideas” host Mike McIntyre moderated what turned out to be a discussion with little substance or new information.
Lisa Shroeder, the President and CEO of the Pittsburgh nonprofit development organization Riverlife, delivered the keynote address. The presentation was a self-described “zoom tour” through her organization’s multiple riverfront development projects.
She joined Chris Warren (Cleveland’s Development Chief), Debbie Berry (University Circle Inc. / Metroparks), Jennifer Coleman (Cleveland Landmarks Commission), and Joe Roman (Greater Cleveland Partnership) on a panel whose members tended to skirt the most pressing concerns.
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2013.
Greetings Pat from PD:
Your sources for the article is incomplete*:
Actually Pat, This original waterfront idea was introduced 25 years ago in Cleveland by the International Center for Environmental Arts. Called “Endangered Spaces” it was accepted and shown at the the 1996 United Nations World Conference on Cities (HABITAT II) in Istanbul, Turkey where it received its first UN Award….. it is possible the Pittsburgh got the idea from there.
BUT the powers that control the development of the lands in Cleveland prohibited the HABITAT II – UN Exhibit from being exhibited when ICEA brought it to Cleveland……ICEA was and is still banned from exhibiting in any public venue in Cleveland.
*According to your colleagues at the The Plain Dealer,
The PD is not allowed to publish articles on ICEA and in fact ALL previous articles on ICEA was purged from the PD’s Morgue.
True Story
See: “Internecine Matrix”
It’s probably too late for Cleveland. Chicago started planning its waterfront over a century ago. It too has made some mistakes (McCormick Place, the thing on top of Soldier Field), but by and large, it has reserved the waterfront for recreation. Cleveland has not. This discussion should have happened before the Rock Hall and Science Center were built, definitely before the ugliest building in Cleveland, the stadium, was built to be used only a handful of times a year. When talk starts about tearing down the stadium, then maybe we’ll have a “Lakefront Plan.” Otherwise that ship
has sailed.