sir2gees

Even though I'm not impressed with Cadillac Ranch, it does bode well for downtown. It partially fills an empty building near Public Square and the patio will give lower Euclid more life. We are seeing the impact of the Corridor project. Look at how far lower Euclid has come in five years. Lower Euclid (E. 4th) is home to the HOB, Corner Alley, Lola, Wonder Bar, Pickwick and Frolic, and yes even Cadillac Ranch. Hopefully, more developers will see potential. The fact out of town investors are looking to fill Euclid is very encouraging.

My Dad works at Mittal. He said they can’t make it fast enough. I can’t remember the stat, but he told me the Cleveland plant is one of the most efficient in the world.

I agree. However, I'm not sure if people on Cleveland.com will ever comprehend it!

Nevada, California, Arizona, and Georgia can't export sunshine and warm weather. Why should we export our greatest resource? I look at each state as a corporation competing with the other states in the union for people and businesses. Sunbelt states have great weather and lower taxes. As a result, Sunbelt communities have prospered. Unfortunately, we can never offer great weather year round. However, we have the Great Lakes. So, why should we give up our last competitive advantage? We are already losing people and business to these areas. I’m a little offended that some Sunbelt politicians think they’re going to pump water from the Great Lakes to support their communities. The Great Lakes region needs to let the country know we have plenty of water and we are open for business.

This is my first post, so forgive me if I repeat anything that has already said. My wife is from Pittsburgh and I graduated from Pitt, so I feel I can add a to the discussion. Pittsburgh has some very nice neighborhoods. Some of these neighborhoods are vibrant and dense. However, I think Pittsburgh benefits from its geography. To a certain extent, Cleveland is disadvantaged by its geography. This is why I always hated the Cleveland/Pittsburgh comparison because the two cities are really different. First, some of these Pittsburgh neighborhoods (Squirrel Hill and Shady Side) never experienced the decline seen in most Cleveland neighborhoods. Essentially, Cleveland had to start from scratch in neighborhoods like OC and Tremont. From my understanding, Squirrel Hill and Shadyside never saw the sharp decline OC and Tremont experienced thirty years ago. Also, Cleveland is flat and very accessible. We built extensive freeways that made it easy to get in and out of the city. Pittsburgh does not have an extensive freeway system. The Parkway is the only freeway that truly cuts through the city (279 does run through the city, but is more extensive on the north side of town). Cleveland’s suburban development is more extensive than Pittsburgh’s. Exiting Clevelanders had a plethora of suburban options. You could move to Shaker or Cleveland Hts, Westlake, Bay Village, Mayfield Hts, Parma, Euclid, Beachwood, Maple Hts, Strongsville or Solon. Pittsburgh on the other hand, is limited by its topography, reducing the number of suburban options. Urban sprawl in Pittsburgh is not as pronounced as it is in Cleveland. Squirrel Hill is Pittsburgh's Shaker or Cleveland Hts. When Pittsburghers looked to move out the city in the 50’s and 60’s, their options were limited. Therefore, Squirrel Hill and Shady Side stayed the same because there were few suburbs that offered that type of housing. Cleveland has several suburbs that offer “Squirrel Hill” type of housing. Finally, my mother-in-law has told me stories of how dense Pittsburgh was in the 50's and 60's. The city of Pittsburgh is roughly 55 square miles. In 1950, there were almost 700,000 people in 55 square miles. Cleveland is 77 square miles, at its peak there was 900,000 people in the city of Cleveland. I didn't do the math, but from a quick glance, Pittsburgh was denser than Cleveland was at its peak. Therefore, some of that density still exists today in several Pittsburgh neighborhoods. This does not mean we can’t learn from Pittsburgh. I think Pittsburgh has a few more natural advantages that helps keep some neighborhoods in the city vibrant.