According to the Landscape Architects Network (LAN), Cleveland's Public Square is one of 10 public squares to "watch out for" in the coming years. Cleveland and Detroit were the only two American cities with proposed projects on the international list.
LAN calls Public Square "notoriously banal," but says the proposal could inject new life into downtown:
The plan aims to weave the four small squares into one large square-park with grassy hills and trees a-plenty. If this project gets off the ground, the green infrastructure will run past the park’s perimeters, truly reinvigorating downtown Cleveland.
The whole "if the project gets off the ground" thing is a fairly significant caveat. Plans have been germinating for years, and the most recent rendering, released in April by NYC architect James Corner, looks like it would cost about $40 million to complete, with all sorts of prerequisite studies and "securing funding" and whathaveyou still up in the air.
That one in Casablanca looks pretty cool.
