This is just for fun, clearly this will never happen

 

The city of Columbus has been very successful in annexation. Columbus now has 210 square miles of land. On that land, Columbus has a population of about 755,000 people. Cleveland is a city with only 77.6 square miles of land and about 431,000 people. If Cleveland were to annex the cities around it and got up to 203.7 square miles of land, Cleveland's new population would be about 913,056 people.

 

The cities I had Cleveland annex were:

 

Lakewood

Cleveland Heights

University Heights

Shaker Heights

East Cleveland

Rocky River

Cuyahoga Heights

South Euclid

Brooklyn Heights

Parma

Brook Park

Parma Heights

Garfield Heights

Brooklyn

Seven Hills

Euclid

Richmond Heights

Lyndhurst

Beachwood

Fairview Park

Bratenahl

Middleburg Heights

So you're saying in your fantasy Super Cleveland that Linndale still exists? ;)

This is just for fun, clearly this will never happen

 

The city of Columbus has been very successful in annexation. Columbus now has 210 square miles of land. On that land, Columbus has a population of about 755,000 people. Cleveland is a city with only 77.6 square miles of land and about 431,000 people. If Cleveland were to annex the cities around it and got up to 203.7 square miles of land, Cleveland's new population would be about 913,056 people.

 

The cities I had Cleveland annex were:

 

Lakewood

Cleveland Heights

University Heights

Shaker Heights

East Cleveland

Rocky River

Cuyahoga Heights

South Euclid

Brooklyn Heights

Parma

Brook Park

Parma Heights

Garfield Heights

Brooklyn

Seven Hills

Euclid

Richmond Heights

Lyndhurst

Beachwood

Fairview Park

Bratenahl

Middleburg Heights

 

I would subtract Beachwood, Lyndhurst, Rocky River as they don't touch the city and contribute to sprawl.

 

I would add Linndale, Maple Hts. Independence, Newburgh and Berea.  This way you can expand the airport and create a rail (subway and commutter) system.

Maple Heights and Independence both contribute to sprawl more than Rocky River.  Also, Rocky River does share a border with Cleveland.

Maple Heights and Independence both contribute to sprawl more than Rocky River.  Also, Rocky River does share a border with Cleveland.

 

You think??

 

RR shares a border with Cleveland?  I didn't know.  I stand (or for KJP sit) corrected.

Although there are some sprawly areas of Rocky River, there is a large area older than anything in either Maple Heights or Independence.  Maple Heights is the definition of post-WWII sprawl.  I don't know how Independence could be considered anything but typical 70s, 80s, 90s sprawl either.  Neither has a historic downtown like Rocky River or any significant area of pre-WWII housing.  Independence is the least built out of the three.  Maple Heights is further from downtown.  Transit is better in Rocky River than Maple Heights.  I could probably keep going.

 

Rocky River is obviously still a suburb and has contributed to sprawl, but I would definitely say both Independence and Maple Heights are even bigger offenders.

 

I'm double checking the border, but I'm pretty sure Rocky River touches Westpark on the southeast side.

^It does, but they're separated by the valley.

Well the same could have been said about Fairview Park, but the boundaries still are touching.  Another city which contributes to sprawl way more than Rocky River on that list is Middleburg Heights.

 

I am actually not quite sure if Rocky River and Cleveland do actually meet.  The Lakewood border is funky around there and actually wraps around the west side of the valley for a bit.

Well the same could have been said about Fairview Park, but the boundaries still are touching.

 

Didn't say it couldn't have.

from wiki:

 

Rocky River forms most of its eastern border from Lakewood along the Rocky River bearing its name in the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. (A small strip of Cleveland itself directly borders Rocky River, although the two cities are not directly connected by roads.) Lake Erie lines the entire northern border of the city while the city of Fairview Park marks the southern border. To the west, Rocky River's neighbors include the cities of Bay Village on the northern part and Westlake on the southern part.

 

 

Wikipedia also shows a part of the Rocky River it claims borders both Rocky River and Cleveland.  However, after viewing this map (http://www.lkwdpl.org/lakewoodmap/map.pdf) I was interested in the sliver of Lakewood that extends west of the river.  Through the USGS website, I think I verified that it does effectively "block" Rocky River from bordering Cleveland at any point.  The borders on the USGS map are hard to see, and some are purple (indicating they changed since 1976 I believe), but I'm pretty sure they confirm this.  I'll try to take a screen shot at some point and shade what I believe to be the different cities.

 

(Yes, I know it's map-dorky and pretty much irrelevant, but it interests me as to why the border is this way.)

Unfortunately, that map isn't detailed enough to show the part in question (SW corner of Lakewood).  It's amazingly difficult to find a good quality map with municipal boundaries.

Unfortunately, that map isn't detailed enough to show the part in question (SW corner of Lakewood).  It's amazingly difficult to find a good quality map with municipal boundaries.

 

no worries...it's the westside, does it even matter?

Independence has a small old town/downtown area on Brecksville Rd. about a mile south of Rockside.  There is an old New England style public square, and to the north of it a small commercial area with a few older commercial buildings built up to the sidewalk, and more early automobile strip malls.  The area looks like it was developed just before and after WWII.  Anyway, it isn't enough to change the overall impression of Independence as sprawl, but one thing I find interesting about NE Ohio is that nearly all the suburbs seem to have some small village area in them, if you can find it.

Unfortunately, that map isn't detailed enough to show the part in question (SW corner of Lakewood). It's amazingly difficult to find a good quality map with municipal boundaries.

 

The southside of Riverside Dr (west of McKinley) is Cleveland, including Hogsback Ln, which leads down into the Metroparks.  I'm not positive where the boundaries are, but I would guess you are either in Cleveland or Rocky River driving down hogsback and right on Park Dr until you get to Rockcliff Dr, which takes you up to Rocky River.  So I do think you can drive directly from Cleveland to RR.

 

 

no worries...it's the westside, does it even matter?

Say the man who likes gold coast east.... er i mean shaker circle :)

 

Here's my Cleveland Map

now that's easy!

If Cleveland ate up all of cuyahoga county we'd still have less land than tons of cities

Why not do what C-Bus does and expand into surrounding counties?

 

But seriously, I could see a few annexations making sense, but nothing on such grand a scale.  EC, a few in the western side of the Industrial Valley, and maybe Garfield Hts.  Anything substantially greater than that is a pipe dream IMO.  Take Bratenahl for example.  There is no way the Bratenahl residents would let that happen.

How do you exactly "Annex" a suburb? Wouldn't annexing these neighborhoods put all of the school systems into one, reduce certain "amenities" these suburbs cherish (police force, better fire coverage, better schools, etc. [in some cases]) and perpetuate the moving to the suburbs that already exists?

Just curious...

Although Cuyahoga County being Cleveland eventually is what is needed, it seems unrealistic at the moment

The schools are generally autonomous. There has also been a lot of talk about regional fire districts so they may become more like school districts. But otherwise yes there are only 2 or 3 suburbs with any likelihood of being annexed. The only shot at a "Super Cleveland" would be to go at it at a county level, and that would still be a virtual impossibility. Half of the cities in the county if given the chance would probably rather vote to carve out a new county (Superburbia County?) than all join together. Here's hoping that people really end up liking the new Cuyahoga County government and have that spur the discussion some time in the next decade.

here's a map

 

http://www.kammscorners.com/Ward19Map.pdf

 

rockcliff is definitely in rocky river, and that "...th dr" (macbeth drive) is also in river.

 

here's rocky river zoning

 

http://www.rrcity.com/zoning_map.jpg

 

the maps here are showing that lakewood sliver blocking river from touching cle

 

 

http://www.ci.lakewood.oh.us/pdf/2007_Hogsback_Lane_Final_Report.pdf

 

this map shows that lakewood sliver also

http://onelakewood.com/pdf/2009-01_Zoning_Map.pdf

Take a look at the Lakewood map I posted, though.  It looks as if a sliver of Lakewood extends around the river south of Hilliard to "block" Rocky River from touching Cleveland.

i see what you are saying, and thought it was really weird

 

the last two posts, after modifying, show how lakewood is blocking rocky river from touching cle

 

it's on my metro graphic arts cleveland metro area wall map too.

 

**

gis.cuyahogacounty.us shows the SW lakewood 'elephant trunk' the most clearly

Why not do what C-Bus does and expand into surrounding counties?

 

Perhaps annex Akron? :|