The Observation Deck

Tom Bullock introduces the movie on Urban Sprawl to the Lakewood Democratic Club at Bela Dubby.


Thursday night at bela dubby, the Lakewood Democratic Club hosted 20 concerned citizens to watch a documentary on sprawl affecting Northeast Ohio and to develop ideas on what Lakewood can do to fight back.

It was a great gathering. People braved snow drifts larger than cars to come together and hammer out solutions to the difficult problems that sprawl poses to our community. If our city can be as vibrant as the group which gathered, we will definitely overcome our challenges. In the words of one attendee, "It's sink or swim time for Lakewood." This group was swimming.

To learn about the problems posed by sprawl, we first watched the 60-minute documentary “Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American Cityâ€Â

Some background on the documentary and the organization that commissioned it:

About the Making Sense of Place film series:
http://www.makingsenseofplace.org/

The Making Sense of Place is a documentary film and educational outreach project launched by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

* The first film, Phoenix: The Urban Desert examined explosive, dispersed growth in the booming Southwest metropolis and the practical and environmental issues that have accompanied.
* The second film, Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City, traces the urban decay, and efforts at revitalization, in what was once America’s 5th largest city. Incorporating historic footage of Cleveland's vibrant economic past, this film examines the difficulties a new generation must confront in dealing with an uncertain future. It aired last fall on WVIZ.
* Work on a 3rd film is underway, exploring another city wrestling with other issues relating to growth.

Making Sense of Place was envisioned as a series of one-hour documentary films about growth and change in large metropolitan areas. Through the eyes and voices of residents of these areas, the series explores the powerful impact of individual choices and the democratic process on the shape and dynamics of cities.

The film seeks to educate and inspire citizens to engage in a better-informed civic dialogue about economic opportunities, social equity, regional impacts, and public and private partnerships to shape the future of Cleveland and other cities.

What can the public do to impact growth and change?

Learn about land use, urban revitalization and suburban growth. Identify the people and organizations in your city that have influence over decisions that affect how land is used. Become involved in your community by volunteering with organizations that focus on those issues that concern you most.

About The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy:
http://www.lincolninst.edu

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a nonprofit and tax-exempt educational institution founded in 1974 to improve the quality of public debate and decisions in the areas of land policy and land-related taxation. The Institute's goals are to integrate theory and practice to better shape land policy and to provide a nonpartisan forum for discussion of the multidisciplinary forces that influence public policy.

One proposed solution to sprawl is improving transportation alternatives that Lakewood offers residents, so I'm posting a relevant community meeting that LakewoodAlive (http://www.lakewoodalive.com) just emailed:

Commuter Rail Line Group To Meet

The next West Shore Corridor Stakeholders meeting will be held Friday, February 23 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Cleveland Planning Commission Director Robert Brown, also NOACA's board president, will convene the meeting.

The meeting will be held at the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency
Board Meeting Room, 1299 Superior Ave.

For more information, click on the link below.
http://www.allaboardohio.org/cms/index.php

What is sprawl?

Sprawl is dispersed, auto-dependent development outside of compact urban centers, along highways, and in rural countryside, according to the Vermont Forum on Sprawl (http://www.vtsprawl.org).

For a more complete definition of sprawl and its impacts, see http://www.vtsprawl.org/Learnabout/sprawl/whatissprawlmain.htm.

Source: Vermont Forum on Sprawl.

Tom

Thanks for the meeting and the posts.


.

is this video available online anywhere?

If Lakewood tries hard enough to fight sprawl, could it be digging its own grave?

Rumor has it alpaca farmer and former Mayor White prevented the widening of 71 near Metro Curve in order to fight sprawl. Some feel a consequence, perhaps unforeseen by Mayor White and to the dismay of Mayor White, was the increased location of businesses in Independence, Brecksville, etc.

Does the narrowing of Detroit Avenue, planting of flowers on a median on Detroit, and doing the same with Clifton and the west shoreway have to do with "fighting sprawl?" Is this the same group or a similar group?

Doug

mostly Lakewood can band together with Cleveland and other Northern Inner Ring suburbs to stop State subsidy of further sprawl.

Secondly it is a matter of remaining intact for when sprawl ends. Sprawl will not be physically very possible for much longer. It is only economically possible through a house of cards of easy credit. Yet even our leaders are so scared Witless they've launched a very expensive oil war.

Free Trade Globalism isn't reconcilable with long-term prosperity. Unless something like cheap Zero Point Energy or cheap Cold Fusion exists, the future of Sprawl is impossible. But that is junk science, even less reliable than Global Warming analysis.

Chicago to Pittsburgh has been turning into one big corridor. Look at population density maps, if you do not believe me. It is a very powerful force that even antisprawl measures have been unable to stop. Oh well at least Lakewood will be nice for retirees if too many activist groups get their fingers into the cream pie smashed into Lakewood's face.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic ... -2,00.html

Doug

DougHuntingdon wrote:Chicago to Pittsburgh has been turning into one big corridor. Look at population density maps, if you do not believe me. It is a very powerful force that even antisprawl measures have been unable to stop. Oh well at least Lakewood will be nice for retirees if too many activist groups get their fingers into the cream pie smashed into Lakewood's face.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic ... -2,00.html

Time wrote:A new hierarchy of values will emerge. Harvard Sociologist David Riesman foresees a decline in manners and charm and a correspondingly increased emphasis on such personal qualities as tenacity and willingness to learn new things. "As the society becomes more fair and just, making everyone in it dependent on achieved rather than adventitious accomplishments," says Riesman, "it becomes more precarious, less relaxed, less arbitrary and corrupt, with fewer respites from competition." To compensate for increased tension, hobbies will proliferate, but "there is the problem that these, too, will be judged in a meritocratic way, and that the easy Sunday painting of Ike or Churchill will be condemned by people who cannot justify doing anything badly."

Doug

Most "new things" to learn in the post-industrial economy are cosmetic, redundant repackaging, or meaningless. That's nearly every new release of Microsoft Office, pharmaceutical sales, Master degrees in education, etc. In many states you even need a (expensive) license to paint finger nails or braid hair. Riesman may as well be selling Scientology. "hobbies will proliferate?": Addiction to Tivo, internet porn and gambling, drugs, or violence. I guess the violence is ok.

Nearly ever automatic update I install for Windows makes it run much slower, so I end up uninstalling it.

President Bush is the first President with an MBA. Nearly every one of his terms have seen Record Budget Deficits, Trade Deficits, etc. We've got the highest percentage of our population in prison of any developed nation, yet our cities are still slums. "Urban" is synonymous with "stupid" and "trashy" in America. That is its "brand". The average American college graduate is about as smart as the average European 16 or 18 year old high school equivalent.

Britain had about 5000 "Denturists", people who make dentures. Legislation recently passed there requiring them to take additional coursework to obtain additional certifications and licenses to do what they've always been doing very well. The cost? about 35,000 dollars or pounds, for a course only certified in Canada. i guess that will make them competitive in the global economy.

The world is crazy.

Doug

This video has been on WVIZ in the past.

Ryan

One problem it would seem for curing Urban Sprawl would be for Cleveland to get it's act together. If it cannot, and it would appear it can't than I see it more as leakage than sprawl.

Why build a wider highway when less and less people go downtown?

It would be interesting to find out how many people go downtown for work, as opposed to heading west? Look at Lorain, there might be less than 3,000 heading into Lorain, when the shipyards used to employ over 5,000 themselves.

As you have pointed out so many times, cost of gas, energy, time will begin to limit travel. Most computers, come with a camera built in making photo conferencing accessible to almost anyone. Email, instant messenger, etc would point to ways to save our most precious commodity, time, and our second most, oil.

I believe sprawl is a red herring, and an excuse. nothing more.


FWIW

Ryan Costa has it right JMO.
If there is a battle over urban sprawl, whatever that means, Lakewood will watch it from the sidelines.
There is little we can do other than, as Ryan says, vote for people who oppose it. The money and political clout behind sprawl do not involve Lakewood.
Ryan is also right that the answer is for Lakewood to do what Lakewood does best, provide good schools, safety, and public services.
We must also be mindful that in our case, crimes and other evidence of social disarray get magnified and enforce preconceived notions about whats happening here.

I really have no idea where it all ends but I'm guessing it will get worse before it gets better.

The price of living in sprawl lands will go up disproportionately to the cost of living in cities and inner ring suburbs. People in the middle or upper-middle class income brackets will migrate back to cities and inner ring suburbs.

Assuming that people in middle and upper middle class income brackets got that way through superior intelligence, presumably they'll figure out how to lower taxes and keep good essential civic services. If that is their priority. Because they can vote, and exercise disproportionately large influence and control between votes.

ryan costa wrote:The price of living in sprawl lands will go up disproportionately to the cost of living in cities and inner ring suburbs. People in the middle or upper-middle class income brackets will migrate back to cities and inner ring suburbs.

This comes with a very big assumption however and that is the central city will remain the focal point for employment. Who is to say what the future will be?

Will Cleveland be the central hub for employment and commerce? Or will NE Ohio fragment into many smaller hubs perhaps around Beachwood/Mayfield, Westlake/Avon, Independence, etc?

The strength of the center city, in our case Cleveland, will have a huge impact on what sprawl will become. Lakewood, at least in terms of sprawl, I think is largely at the mercy of Cleveland's fate.

Assuming that people in middle and upper middle class income brackets got that way through superior intelligence, presumably they'll figure out how to lower taxes and keep good essential civic services.

The types of jobs upper-middle and upper class people tend to occupy often lend themselves easily to telecommuting. In the future, will there even be as much reliance on a commute or central city for those people? And if that happens, I don't think the costs will disproportionately rise.

But of course this is also potentially where Lakewood's strength can help if Cleveland becomes further irrelevant to the regional economy. The culture of Lakewood becomes the chief selling point to those telecommuters in the knowledge-based economy.

As telecommuting takes off, and where you live in relation to where you work becomes less important, Lakewood can be poised to attract a large number of those people.

These are all interesting facts to consider.

Bryan Schwegler wrote:This comes with a very big assumption however and that is the central city will remain the focal point for employment. Who is to say what the future will be?

Will Cleveland be the central hub for employment and commerce? Or will NE Ohio fragment into many smaller hubs perhaps around Beachwood/Mayfield, Westlake/Avon, Independence, etc?

The strength of the center city, in our case Cleveland, will have a huge impact on what sprawl will become. Lakewood, at least in terms of sprawl, I think is largely at the mercy of Cleveland's fate.

....
As telecommuting takes off, and where you live in relation to where you work becomes less important, Lakewood can be poised to attract a large number of those people.

These are all interesting facts to consider.

Bryan

This is the very essence of what we were talking about last year and was laughed off by many.

What is the future of work, travel, energy, money, manufacturing, etc.

Should we base Lakewood's future on last year's trend, or look deep into the future?

Everything we can see points to the end of large hubs with the exceptions of "market" cities like New York, Toronto, Chicago, etc. The coasts would seem the big difference, but latest housing numbers shows a large drop off in house sales on the coasts and in growth areas like the Southwest.

At one point the thought of designing a city based on designers and small or home based businesses was laughed off. Now we see that Cleveland understands how much money designers can make, and how much sense it is to grab that market.

To base Lakewood's future on retail or manufacturing seems crazy to me. These markets are in decline, with now forecast that shows the trend changing in the next 30 years.

On the flip-side, Lakewood is perfectly situated to grab this market, and take it to the bank. We can win this war which will give Lakewood the freedom it needs, while making the city the best place to live, raise a family and have a small business.

So the question we pose so often. Do we tie ourselves to Cleveland, or become Westlake's inner ring suburb? Or do we create something entirely different from what everyone else offers and grasp the future?

.

Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) provide meetings and opportunities for public input on transportation infrastructure projects. This includes bicycle and pedestrian projects in addition to roads.

Information on Cleveland Core Urban Projects (Lakefront West, Innerbelt, etc.)
http://www.innerbelt.org/

Sign up for mailing list for Cleveland Core Urban Projects (Lakefront West, Innerbelt, etc.)
http://www.innerbelt.org/PublicInv/form.htm

Ohio Department of Transportation Updates
(Cuyahoga County)
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/dist12/travel%20in%20D12.htm

NOACA Meeting Schedule
http://www.noaca.org/meetings04.html

Mindy Kuth