urbanomics

I was bored and hadn't played around with Sketch-up in a while, so he's my attempt at the Ameritrust and Progressive Life towers, dropped into Google Earth. Not as advanced as some, but I figured it was worth a shot.

It's the reason I'm back in school pursuing a new career.

Unless I'm seeing things wrong, there is some kind of sand component in the Toronto photo. I'm actually thinking that the Flats beach might end up being something like that, with the boardwalk along the river and the sand part off of that surrounded by some pathways.

The beach itself isn't going to actually touch the water. It's going to end at the bulkhead and be a few feet above the water level.

Looks like there might have some criteria that Cleveland didn't meet, according to the Crain's article: "David Gilbert, CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, which put together Cleveland's bid to be included, said on Tuesday before the announcement was made he had a feeling the city would not be included, due to certain FIFA liability requirements that Cleveland could not meet. Mr. Gilbert declined to provide specifics." FULL ARTICLE: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20100112/FREE/100119957 Is it wrong of me to be thinking "At least Charlotte didn't make it."?

Cleveland is left out.

I'm hearing a rumor that the field of potential host cities for the US bid is going to be narrowed down and announced on ESPN News today at 3:30 p.m.

Interesting video from the Wall Street Journal about off-shore wind farms, looking specifically about one in England. http://online.wsj.com/video/building-wind-farms-in-the-ocean/DA033E50-9632-4B1A-A1ED-5CD8B4C0647E.html

I kind of like the simple design of the building. It blends more with the rest of the Warehouse District and makes it look more like an extention of downtown rather than a completely separate project. I actually hope the residential component is adjusted to have a similar design. The last proposal looked nice, but didn't really seem fit in with the surrounding area. I guess that had to do more with the way they reconfigured the streets through. Either way, I'm really looking forward to driving on the shoreway bridge once this gets going.

Looking down Bridge Ave. outside of Heck's in Ohio City this afternoon during the lake effect.

The traffic counts for Public Square are very similar to Fountain Square in Indianapolis. Why does it work there? I'm assuming you’re referring to Monument Circle in Indianapolis. Fountain Square is actually a neighborhood to the southeast of downtown. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=monument+circle+indianapolis&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.847644,78.837891&ie=UTF8&hq=Soldiers'+and+Sailors'+Monument&hnear=Soldiers'+and+Sailors'+Monument,+Indianapolis,+IN+46204&ll=39.768502,-86.1578&spn=0.002004,0.004812&t=k&z=18 Here’s an areal of the circle. It’s basically paved with bricks all the way up to the edges of the buildings and it’s pretty tough to tell where the sidewalk ends and the road begins. It basically forms a big “urban room” with the buildings as walls. I don’t know if Public Square could get quite the same feeling since it’s a little larger and the buildings aren’t quite as close together (plus the Jacobs parking lot breaks up the wall), but it still could have a similar effect. I’m not sure about the traffic counts for the Circle. I know Meridian Street (which runs North-South) is has a decent amount of traffic, but Market Street (the East-West street) has far less. They actually close off a portion of it just to the east every week in the summer for an outdoor farmers’ market. I think the biggest difference between the circle and Public Square is the amount of actual space in the middle. The center of the circle is almost all monument. There really isn’t any open area. So the amount of people crossing the street to the middle may be limited. EDIT: The other big difference between the two is the amount of bus traffic. The circle is not nearly the transit hub that PS is, so that could have an impact as well. That being said, I think there still needs to be a good reason to cross the street, so remaking the center of PS would do wonders. I do like KJP’s idea about making it one big square and having the traffic on Superior just go underneath. The only thing better than slow traffic going through a public space is no traffic going through a public space. Just a matter of the cost of course.

While I really am intrigued by the third design, it doesn’t seem to address what I think is one of the biggest problems – that, right now, the square is basically designed to favor motorists and is made up of four islands in the middle of a sea of streets. The bridge idea is interesting and may help, but, like X said, I don’t see it needing to be that complicated. What I’d like to see included – regardless of what design they come up with for the middle – is a way to make the streets around the squares more pedestrian friendly. As an example, Monument Circle and Market Street in Indianapolis are all paved with bricks instead of asphalt, the curbs are much lower to the road level and kind of blend in, and there are actually no lane lines at all. As a motorist, it kind of forces you to slow down and pay more attention because you basically feel like you’re driving ON the public space itself, not THROUGH it. It’s designed to be pedestrian first, and the cars are basically treated like guests – not the other way around. If the asphalt on all the roads around the four squares could be replaced with pavers and blend more into the sidewalks, it could basically make the entire space within the perimeter of the buildings “Public Square”, not just the four blocks in the middle. I still think there needs to be something done to the space in the middle, but making the roads around it more pedestrian friendly would go a long way.

I think it's completely the opposite. Designing this building as if it's in its own void with no regard for its surroundings and how it fits into and affects the environment it is in? To me THAT sounds like the tail wagging the dog.

This is why I like the inclusion of the pavilions along the south of Mall B. The western one would allow access right across the street from where the MM was originally proposed. While it's not the MM itself, it's at least a way for a medical shoppers to avoid at least some of those spring snowstorms. I'm assuming that there'd be a way for them to go from the mart itself to the pavilions without having to walk through the actual convention space. Hopefully they're also designed to be less like back doors and more like a prominant entrance.

I was at first skeptical about putting the MM on Mall C, but I like the way this plan looks. I actually am glad that the MM isn't going to be lined up with the courthouse and city hall and is more or less on its own. It could be more distinctive that way. I also like the fact that it's going to put more of a finished look on the side of the cliff; it makes for a front door to the north of downtown and could make it more inclined to a tie-in with a potential North Coast Transportation Center. I think the entrance pavilions at the south of Mall B are pretty key, so it connects to the center of downtown better and doesn't feel like it's completely isolated. Any idea how much was actually going to be spent on the Public Hall renovations? I'm hoping that money goes to improving the design of the MM, but I'm not holding my breath.

I was wondering about the historic tax credits myself, but I assume the reason they won't use them is because of the restrictions on renovations to the building if they did use them, meaning they probably couldn't update it to the point they wanted. I'm kind of curious how the Mall being on the National Register of Historic Places will impact any kind of building on top of it. It doesn't seem like there is much control over the property from a federal perspective, but, according to the site, the state historic preservation office might have a say in it: (http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/faq.htm#restrictions).

It's too soon to tell but Anthony Sowell might have this distinction in Cleveland. I found out this summer that one of my father's business partners was Jeffrey Dahmer's apartment leasing agent. I know totally random and dumb, but it was bizarre dinner conversation that came to mind. Wasn't Jeffery Dahmer from Bath (Cleveland/Akron) If I remember correctly, he was, and his parents still live there. He was. He actually went to my high school (Revere), well before I went there though. My eighth grade science teacher had him in his class back then. Said he was just a quiet kid.

What exactly constitutes "appropriately designed surface parking lots?"

Just wanted to give an update on my situation. I’ve been a pretty bad correspondent, so my apologies for that. After a lot of consideration over the past year, I will be starting classes at the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State next week, where I’ll be spending the next two years pursuing a Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning. Long story short, after looking at my options with Cleveland State, Kent State and BSU, (and considering the fact that my girlfriend is employed in Indianapolis) Ball State ended up being the best option for me right now. The plus side is that it has more of a design element to it than the CSU program, which is something I’m definitely interested in. I think the key to the whole thing is my internship next summer. My ultimate goal is to get back to the Cleveland area in some urban planning capacity, so it would be ideal to have my internship done there. One of my friends from when I was an undergrad at CSU is a Levin grad and has some connections, so I’m hoping she can help me out. I just wanted to say thanks for your support and suggestions. I’m hoping that once I get involved in the program and have a good idea of what area I’m going to focus on, I’ll have more and/or better questions to ask, both on this thread and on the rest of the UO board. Thanks!

glad to hear you had a positive experience...i really really need to get there ASAP. what would you say the % of locals and imports was? i really try and stay away from most imports as they have to come over on a boat and you really dont get the freshest quality of beer that way. Sorry for the delay, just saw this today. Tough for me to give you a percentage, but there was a pretty good selection of US beers. I know I saw a few from Colorado, PA and California in addition to the Great Lakes selection. I think you could do just fine there living on domestics.

Just got back from a visit to Bar Symon. Great atmosphere for being in a strip mall in Avon. Since we arrived at 7 on a Monday evening, it wasn't overly full, but by 8:30 is was getting pretty busy. Food was really good, but the beer selection was outstanding. A real extensive list of domestics and imports, plus a section at the bottom of the list titled "Other" that included PBRB and Miller High Life on tap. We sampled some of the potato chips with blue cheese fondue as well as a sausage platter with three different types, including lamb mint and veal. Plus it came with three different types of mustard, including one that I unofficially determined to be Bertman's Ballpark Mustard. Nice Cleveland touch. Oh, and if that wasn't enough, Michael Symon himself was there tonight, walking around and meeting with customers, shaking hands and chatting it up. He even stopped by to check up on us at the bar, shook hands and had a good laugh (that trademark Symon laugh). Just like a regular guy. Awesome time all around.

http://www.csuohio.edu/news/releases/2009/05/windtower.html CSU Installs Prototype Wind Tower On May 12, 2009, Cleveland State University hoisted its first wind tower amplification system to the rooftop of its Plant Services Building located at the corner of Chester Ave. and E. 24th Street. The system, designed by Dr. Majid Rashidi of CSU’s Fenn College of Engineering, is a wind deflecting structure with small-scale turbines that can generate power at low wind speeds.

A little disappointed the Pee-Dee hasn't picked this up yet, at least I didn't see it online... http://www.csuvikings.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/042709aaa.html Bullock Signs Free Agent Contract With New York Jets Completes Switch From Hoops To Football & Makes It To The NFL April 27, 2009 CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When J'Nathan Bullock signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at Cleveland State in the fall of 2004, he did so dreaming of the day that he would some day sign a professional contract. That dream came to fruition on Sunday night when he committed to starting his pro career in New York.

I really do appreciate all of your input. I still have a ways to go in this process but it definitely helps having some insight from people who are involved in the field. I read that Cleveland.com article about Justin Glanville and it’s reassuring to know that I don’t necessarily need the planning background to get into this field. The Urban Planners thread was also really helpful (Not sure how I missed it considering it was posted less than a month ago :-)). At this point, it seems like the Levin College might provide the best of what I’m looking for, but I’ll still continue to research both schools. I‘m pretty sure I would enjoy having some elements of design involved in what I do, but not having it wouldn’t necessarily be a deal-breaker either. The most important thing to me at this point is having the satisfaction that what I’m doing is having results and making an impact in some way (something that is lacking in what I’m doing now). I’ll obviously keep you all posted as I move along with this. Thanks again!

I appreciate it! No rush at all. I just waited until this evening because I'm trying to avoid posting too much at work (my computer is wide open and some people have wandering eyes).