Cleveland: All things to all people

Is Cleveland tourist-friendly?

 

By Susan Glaser, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer

 

A few years back, my husband and I emerged from the subway in Paris, disoriented and desperate. Suitcases in tow, we were studying a map, trying to figure out how to get to a rental-car agency, when a woman stopped and asked in broken English if she could help.

 

She ended up walking us to our destination, a few blocks away.

 

And people say Parisians are unfriendly?

 

I was reminded of that episode a few weeks ago when I heard about an effort by Positively Cleveland, the region's tourism bureau, to assess whether Northeast Ohio was sufficiently welcoming to visitors. The organization sent six volunteer tourists on pre-set itineraries throughout the region, and plans to use their experiences to help transform Cleveland into a better, more hospitable destination.

 

The organization's experiment got me thinking: What makes a place tourist-friendly? And how does Cleveland stack up?

 

Perhaps I'm not the best person to answer the second question. I've lived here most of my life, so it's not often that I get lost and require directions from a stranger.

 

I have, however, spent lots of time playing tourist in other cities -- so I have a few thoughts about what makes a place warm to visitors. Hint: It has nothing to do with the weather.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2011/12/is_cleveland_tourist-friendly.html

What is her point? We should hire people to walk around Cleveland so nice little old ladies can get directions and not be frightened of prowlers? Maybe she just wanted to tell us that she has been to London and Paris. That's nice.

Book Review: New to Cleveland: A Guide to Rediscovering the City

http://rustwire.com/2011/12/20/book-review-new-to-cleveland-a-guide-to-rediscovering-the-city/

^^New York City did something similar to that after 9/11. Apparently, it was a very successful program.

 

 

Actually we did too... and it has been quite successful.

Yeah, that's largely what the DCA Ambassadors are for.  It might help if there were some signs pointing this out though, because someone new to town might see them and assume they're just a cleaning crew.

Was this posted anywhere? I haven't seen it.....

 

Cleveland Lays Out the Welcome Mat

DAVID LEPESKA

DEC 08, 2011

 

Thinking about moving? You should consider Cleveland. That's the pitch of Global Cleveland – and it's a more reasonable appeal than it might have been a few years ago.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2011/12/cleveland-lays-out-welcome-mat/675/

 

 

EDIT: that damn Murray Hill beat me to it....

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,7005.msg591219.html#msg591219

^ Yep beat you again, KJP!  I'm always looking for those pro-outsider perspectives on Cleveland.

 

Cleveland received a blurb as a must visit Christmas city:

 

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/848525/christmas-vacation

 

IMO, this really isn't marketed enough:

 

- Christmas Story House and Museum

- Snow Days @ Progressive Field

- University Circle (Rink at Wade Oval, Botanical Garden's Winterfest, etc)

- Christmas Ale and Great Lakes Brewery

- Playhouse Square dozens and dozens of Holiday shows

- Cleveland Orchestra Holiday concerts

 

Cleveland in the Washington Post as well...very University Circle centered (I approve):

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/winter-sports-in-cleveland-where-to-go-what-to-do-where-to-stay-where-to-eat/2011/12/12/gIQAPGUgyO_story.html

 

Looks like the same author wrote this travel story as well:

 

Home of Cleveland's boys of summer becomes winter playground

Posted Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011 Updated Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011

By Becky Krystal

The Washington Post

 

The lights above were so bright, they'd blind me if I looked straight at them. Thousands of stadium seats sloped gently upward from the field. A roar went up from the crowd, and my image blinked on the scoreboard above the bleachers.

 

Then I turned around, and there were the Christmas trees and twinkling lights. The illusion dissipated.

 

For one winter afternoon in Cleveland, I indulged in a fantasy shared by many a fan of America's pastime: romping around a Major League Baseball diamond.  Snow Days at Progressive (nee Jacobs) Field, home of the Indians, is now in its second year. From right after Thanksgiving to mid-January, the stadium dedicates itself to winter sports, with ice skating and tubing facilities installed in a place that typically sees a different sort of sliding.For less than the cost of a game-day ticket, an all-access Snow Days pass puts you smack in the middle of the turf, with unlimited tubing, skating and holiday cheer.

 

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/12/21/3610963/home-of-clevelands-boys-of-summer.html\

^ Murray Hill, the slash at the end of your post is making it a bad link.

I currently live in Rockford, Illinois and although not nearly as influential as Cleveland, the "Forest City" nickname is used quite a bit around here.  You'll hear it in the names of businesses, referenced on the local newscasts, etc.  Rockford is consistently touted for it's fantastic park system and  the "Forest City" nickname gives this decayed industrial city a glimmer of hope.

I know it's been mentioned before, but I really do have a soft spot for "Believeland," even if it is used mostly in sporting events.  It has the same meaning as "Comeback City." With other Rust Belt cities trying to make a comeback, I think Believeland makes a unique fit for the city, though the rhyme might be considered hokey.

 

Re: Memphis' image v. Cleveland's - in addition to more rock-themed signs, bus stations, other public things, what about steel-industry themed?  Rock and industry seem to be a complementary fit.  I'm just imagining bus stops stylized with gears, riveted walls, and tangles of pipes.  I think Cleveland's image could get some kind of "grit cred" (if such a thing exists) if it stylized itself as some kind of Rust Belt chic, steampunk city.  I like how this Urbanophile post puts it: "the mark of a great city is in how it treats its ordinary places, not its special ones."

 

http://www.urbanophile.com/2008/02/03/pecha-kucha-night/

 

Also, we need a proper steel museum, not just the small, garage-sized one at Steelyard Commons.  This is the huge steel complex in Monterrey, Mexico, which they have successfully converted into a steel museum and park.  I recommend clicking on "Fanfoto" to get an idea of what the place looks like.

 

http://www.parquefundidora.org/en

Re: City Flag - Yes, I would like the city to have the pride to fly its flag everywhere, but I think the Cleveland city flag is in need of a redesign.  I think red, white, and blue + coat of arms is about as generic as you can get.

 

The city flag should be something simple, memorable, and easy to draw.  Something that people will want to have tattooed on themselves!  Design something stylish, and I think people will naturally want to fly it.

 

Perhaps we can draw inspiration from Ohio's unique pennant flag?  Maybe a play on the city seal?  Or a flag with an outline of the Terminal Tower?  These are just some thoughts to kick around.

 

Also, we need a proper steel museum, not just the small, garage-sized one at Steelyard Commons.  This is the huge steel complex in Monterrey, Mexico, which they have successfully converted into a steel museum and park.  I recommend clicking on "Fanfoto" to get an idea of what the place looks like.

 

http://www.parquefundidora.org/en 

 

Good idea.  I also think Cleveland should have the following museums/showcases:

 

- Superman Museum

- Victor Schreckengost

- Jesse Owens?

- Harvey Pekar

 

I was recently at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, and this jogged my brain to why Cleveland doesn't have anything similar for its people who affected the world/USA.

 

- There is also ZERO historic maker where the world's first electric traffic light that was installed at E.105 and Euclid Ave.

 

- Even a Life Saver Candy Museum could add a fun element!  The Crane family who invented the candy lived in University Circle (there is a historic marker on E. 115th and Euclid Ave)...Drumroll...another UC destination??

 

Cleveland has a rich history that is very much so left un-showcased.

 

Whatever museums are established have to be financially supported by more than just tickets, preferably by an endowment in which the museum lives off the interest.

 

There is already a terrific steel museum in Youngstown which has been threatened with closure because so few people visit it. I have been to it only once.

 

And the guy who invented the electric traffic light was Garrett Morgan, a black man who also invented the forerunner to the modern gas mask and used it to save lives after an explosion in the salt mines under Lake Erie. He had many other inventions, and was called the black Thomas Edison. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrett_Morgan

 

I like the idea of a famous Clevelanders museum, rather than having one museum dedicated to one famous Clevelander, and then another, then another. That's a lot to financially support. And I think the old Cleveland Trust Rotunda at East 9th and Euclid would be a good spot for it. Perhaps another locally significant location might suffice too.

The rotunda reminds me of the hockey museum in toronto.  I have thought for a while that the three sports teams could collaborate on a cleveland sports hall of fame and I agree that East 9th and euclid would be a good spot

^ Great idea Whip!!!  Now that makes a lot of sense.

 

p.s. while on the subject, if you haven't been to the Negro League Museum in the Colonial Arcade, it's pretty awesome.

I really think that the people of Cleveland would be a great museum. Inventors, athletes, other famous people, etc. I would support it!

I love the idea of a Clevelanders museum, but it's not really a great funding environment for arts and culture organizations at the moment. Certainly, the tobacco tax has helped stabilize many organizations, but there's a finite amount of foundation dollars out there, and more and more of it is being applied toward economic development, sustainability, etc. A lot of the corporations that supported local arts organizations are long gone. I think it would be a pretty hard sell to get a museum up and running right now ... The foundations really want to see several years of programming history before they start funding you, unless you're addressing a very key priority of theirs (e.g. Manchester Bidwell), and you can't apply for Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (aka tobacco funds) until you've had three years of arts and culture programming history. You'd really be relying on some passionate donors and some passionate volunteers to get something like that up and running.

 

Plus ... We do have a lot of quirky museums that honor Cleveland people ... the Christmas Story House, the African American Museum, the International Polka Hall of Fame, the Ukrainian Museum Archives, the Money Museum. I think we'd be better off trying to get existing organizations to do exhibits on Cleveland greats and Cleveland quirks instead of starting new groups. I mean, seriously, the Western Reserve Historical Society should be doing EXACTLY this ... by the very nature of their mission!!

CPAC and Northeast Shores launches The Cleveland Arsenal to provide incentives to people doing their own grassroots marketing of the city to artists, etc. ... There are definitely some Urban Ohioers that would be a great fit for this! :)

 

The Cleveland Arsenal

 

Do you love Cleveland? How much and why? Not only do we want to know, we want to pay you to tell us – and more importantly, others – why this is the greatest city on earth. No, we’re not kidding. We recognize that there are those of you who extol the honest, hardworking, creative elements of our city without any compensation or praise. You are the true Clevelanders, and you deserve to be rewarded for your passionate advocating.

 

Northeast Shores Development Corporation, in association with the Community Partnership for Arts & Culture, is excited to announce a citywide search for the 5 most passionate advocates who proudly – and loudly – call Cleveland their own. These 5 Cleveland-loving individuals will be tasked with promoting their favorite city and all its creative and artistic awesomeness. In exchange for doing what you’re already doing, we’re going to sweeten the pot with a $1,000 Award for Awesomeness. That’s correct: $1,000 just for telling people about the greatness of Cleveland ...

 

... More info and application at http://www.cpacbiz.org/ftp_file/11-12/ArsenalApplication.pdf

Bummer ... I thought with all the "If I was in charge of marketing the city" talk we do in this thread, there'd be some more excitement about this :)

^Could you explain a little more about the requirement for promoting North Collinwood?

Another thought: people have said that families won't move back until the schools improve, but there are good schools in Cleveland, they're just not well publicized.  Maybe it'd be worthwhile to promote the schools that are doing well in TV spots and magazines to attract people to live in those neighborhoods?  Of course, the money from such promotion would NOT come from the Board of Ed, but from tourism or whoever is in charge of recruiting people to live in the city.

^^ Sure. The idea is generally that the program intends to reward people (and provide them with a little information and support) who are already out there doing their own grassroots marketing of the city ... People like all of us who are interested in getting people to live and work in the city. The main requirements are attending some meetings where we'll be sharing information about different resources for people looking to move into the city ... financial incentives that are available, homeownership services, etc. The meetings will also be an opportunity to meet, collaborate, etc. with some other people who are doing their own grassroots communications stuff. Ultimately, we're hoping the program raises the visibility of why it's important to validate and financially support individual residents in their efforts to market the city.

 

There's no specific stipulations for who you reach or how you reach them ... Just an expectation that this is something you'll be doing over a year's time and that you'll be able to report on your efforts. Since the money for this pilot is coming from Artists in Residence, we definitely have an interest in people reaching out to artists specifically about why Cleveland (proper) is a great place for them to be, and we want to give people information about our program and about what else is going on in North Collinwood ... But again, there's no specific requirements about when and how and to whom you're talking about North Collinwood. Our end goal is definitely to increase visibility of our work in this neigborhood, but we think it's a win when an artist moves here and gets an opportunity to buy a house or open a business or whatever ... Regardless of whether that's in Collinwood or Tremont or West Park or Slavic Village. Or when you talk up the city to someone who's not an artist. Or when you talk up the city to a tourist rather than someone looking to immediately move here. The initiative truly believes that a win is a win is a win :)

 

Let me know if that gets to what you're asking or if you need any more info.

Hmm, I wonder if setting up a forum about Ohio and tailoring it to cities like Cleveland would qualify.  I bet if that same forum went out of its way to help new residents find houses/things to do it would be a shoe in for an award like this. 

Haha. Well, technically, this is for individuals, not groups. But if individuals were frequent posters on a forum about urban communities in Ohio, and if individuals were through-and-through Cleveland lovers, out there spreading the Cleveland gospel every day, and if individuals wanted to participate in a year-long effort to get out the positive buzz near and far, and particularly to artists, then I'm sure they'd be considered strongly ;)

well maybe someone like Mayday who set up the forum should apply

^Thanks for the suggestion, but as far as setting up the forum, the credit goes to richNcincy and ColDayMan :-)

Yeah, but it sucked until they pulled in a Clevelander

 

(I kid, I kid)

Help your city......

 

http://blog.foursquare.com/2012/01/24/tell-us-why-your-hometown-deserves-a-foursquare-badge-visitus/

 

January 31st deadline approaching, Urban Ohioers :)

 

cleveland arsenal will reward city's most passionate advocates

Lee Chilcote, Fresh Water

Thursday, January 19, 2012

 

Are you militant about your love for Cleveland? A recently launched civic initiative entitled Cleveland Arsenal aims to reward the grassroots boosterism you've been doing -- while also spreading some of that love to far-flung corners of the region and beyond.

 

Cleveland Arsenal is a competition that will reward five hardcore Cleveland enthusiasts with $1,000 in cold, hard cash ...

 

... More at http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/forgood/clevelandarsenal011912.aspx

To market Cleveland, just tout the Salisbury steak. Works especially well with Canadians.

And that's SAL-isbury (with a Great Lakes "aaaaaa") steak, not SAUL-isbury, up here.

So a quick aside. I was talking with someone who was in town for work and who had been put up at the InterContinental. As we were talking, he said he wasn't sure what neighborhood he was staying in but thought it was downtown. That's the third time I've had someone say that to me (granted, over a couple years time). Just noting it because with Tudor Arms and the Courtyard expanding visitor space in the Fairfax / University Circle area, it seems like it's really imperative that we be doing a better job giving an orientation of the land. Particularly with the InterContinental, I can't imagine what someone's viewpoint would be walking away from a trip here if they thought the Cleveland Clinic campus was our downtown!

So a quick aside. I was talking with someone who was in town for work and who had been put up at the InterContinental. As we were talking, he said he wasn't sure what neighborhood he was staying in but thought it was downtown. That's the third time I've had someone say that to me (granted, over a couple years time). Just noting it because with Tudor Arms and the Courtyard expanding visitor space in the Fairfax / University Circle area, it seems like it's really imperative that we be doing a better job giving an orientation of the land. Particularly with the InterContinental, I can't imagine what someone's viewpoint would be walking away from a trip here if they thought the Cleveland Clinic campus was our downtown!

 

Also, I had met a lady from Virginia who's son had a heart transplant at the Clinic.  While she loved the people there and thought Cleveland was very friendly, she couldnt believe what a dump it was.  I blieve she also stayed at the InterContinental, and of course the directions to get to the CLinc for out of towners is coming 490 to E55th to ......  to the Clinic (yeah pretty dumpy).  While Im sure she wasnt in any mood to go sightseeing, it would have been nice if there was a way for her to realize that all of Cleveland isnt that way. 

 

I explained to her that she was very close to a wonderful area of culture and historic mansions, but she never would have known that. 

So a quick aside. I was talking with someone who was in town for work and who had been put up at the InterContinental. As we were talking, he said he wasn't sure what neighborhood he was staying in but thought it was downtown. That's the third time I've had someone say that to me (granted, over a couple years time). Just noting it because with Tudor Arms and the Courtyard expanding visitor space in the Fairfax / University Circle area, it seems like it's really imperative that we be doing a better job giving an orientation of the land. Particularly with the InterContinental, I can't imagine what someone's viewpoint would be walking away from a trip here if they thought the Cleveland Clinic campus was our downtown!

 

Also, I had met a lady from Virginia who's son had a heart transplant at the Clinic.  While she loved the people there and thought Cleveland was very friendly, she couldnt believe what a dump it was.  I blieve she also stayed at the InterContinental, and of course the directions to get to the CLinc for out of towners is coming 490 to E55th to ......  to the Clinic (yeah pretty dumpy).  While Im sure she wasnt in any mood to go sightseeing, it would have been nice if there was a way for her to realize that all of Cleveland isnt that way. 

 

I explained to her that she was very close to a wonderful area of culture and historic mansions, but she never would have known that. 

"had met"?  Sweetie, come back home, you've been in the South faaaar too long!  he he he

 

Even our own media produces some head-scratchers and confusion...

 

This company has since relocated to Shaker Hts, but used to be located at 10550 Carnegie Avenue  Cleveland, OH when this story was written (building is demolished and now serves as parking for Tudor Arms).  Please note where the Cleveland news channel designates the start-ups location in the opening paragraph :

 

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=133742

 

 

 

Found this impressive video about Cleveland.

Found this impressive video about Cleveland.

 

I'm pretty sure that's been posted on here before but I can't seem to find it. So if it's that hard to find, it doesn't hurt to post it again!

 

And if you like that video, you'll love this one.......

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,4179.msg575891.html#msg575891

I'm cross-posting this, which I posted to my FB page today. However, my post was only the first paragraph below. I am posting the rest of the story here on UO:

 

The walking tour guide does it again. Guy and his daughter stopped me on E 4th street and asked if I knew where Johnny's restaurant was. I said I'd walk with them part way. Gave them a run down of E 4th and Warehouse District, public square, etc and we had a nice chat - daughter is studying photography in town here over a few days. Pointed them toward Johnny's and described where it was and they w...ere on their way. They finally admitted as we shook hands and separated that they were from Pittsburgh and afraid to tell me since I'm a Clevelander. I happily assured them I'm not a sports fan so it's no skin off my nose, and that we were glad to have them here and hoped they'd return. They said they've really liked their stay and will be back. Score!

 

What I left out:

 

The father said they had just come from Tower City mall and had, in their walk around the public square area, been approached by what he described as 2 different "very aggressive panhandlers." I myself was approached by an extremely LOUD and aggressive panhandler nowhere near where these people were walking today when I was out at lunch (corner of E 6th and Euclid). When he YELLED in my face, "GOT ANY CHANGE!" I said "NO" quite sternly back, and as I went past he yelled, "NOT GONNA HELP ME OUT, ARE YOU, BITCH!" I yelled back at him that the Lord helps those who help themselves, just because it's really ironic for me to say something about the Lord and because nobody really argues with you when you say stuff like that.

 

What I told the visitors was that we just ignore the panhandlers and that they are really harmless, just annoying, but what I was thinking was, you know, this is a really big problem here that we need to do something about. These people are having an otherwise very pleasant visit to our city and are going to go home and tell everyone what a nice time they had in Cleveland (they told me they would say this), but I'm sure that will also include the story about the panhandlers. And I was out for an otherwise nice lunch on a sunny but cold day and this guy had to be a dick. He was yelling at everyone that went past and approaching people, not just hanging out by the side of a building or something.

 

 

^ I believe there is a thread dedicated to the homeless, this conversation may be better served there.

 

With that being said, I know the homeless man you speak of on E. 6th and Euclid, he is there almost everyday at lunch at he can be extremely rude and aggressive. I assume the City of Cleveland has some type of laws/mandates that prohibit loitering, I can't figure out why they aren't enforced.

I think the post kind of references both marketing the city AND the homeless. If it's wrong, feel free to move it, mods.

I think I encountered the same panhandler on Saturday. He was hanging out on Euclid, between the CVS store at East 9th and East 4th. I was downtown on Saturday doing some modifications to our office in the City Club Building so I kept bopping back and forth between my office, CVS and Radio Shack. Each time I went past the guy, he asked me for money! Whatever ails him also has apparently affected his short-term memory... Even though he was in desperate need of an "inside voice" he seemed pretty harmless. I never paid attention to him so he didn't waste much time with me. I'd forgotten about him until I read your post, RnR'er.

I mean, I'm no shrinking violet as you all know, so people like this are indeed "annoying but harmless" to me, but this guy's daughter looked to be in her late teens at best and was obviously having her Dad escort her around so not terribly comfortable walking around a town like this on her own, and it does color someone's perception and make them feel somewhat unsafe, especially a young female like that. If she's, say, thinking of coming to Cleveland for college, this is the kind of thing that would make her not want to live downtown, just a single experience like that can really color things for you.

As far as 'marketing the city', we didn't get the best press when the White Administration ramped up efforts to curb people's fears of the homeless.  The police even took to taking homeless people out of the CBD and abandoning them in remote locations, which resulted in a lawsuit against the City and propaganda for the homeless advocates.

 

http://www.neoch.org/grapevinearticles/13/cleveland_among_the_top_five_of_.htm

 

Many, many cities have tried to pass ordinances intended to 'criminalize', in one way or another, being homeless.  The laws have had little to no success.  What has had some effect, especially in NYC, is taking cops out of the cars and putting them on the street.  Police 'walking the beat' is about as good a deterrent as you could ask for.  The criminals never know when one of the boys in blue is going to stroll around the corner.

As far as 'marketing the city', we didn't get the best press when the White Administration ramped up efforts to curb people's fears of the homeless.  The police even took to taking homeless people out of the CBD and abandoning them in remote locations, which resulted in a lawsuit against the City and propaganda for the homeless advocates.

 

http://www.neoch.org/grapevinearticles/13/cleveland_among_the_top_five_of_.htm

 

Many, many cities have tried to pass ordinances intended to 'criminalize', in one way or another, being homeless.  The laws have had little to no success.  What has had some effect, especially in NYC, is taking cops out of the cars and putting them on the street.  Police 'walking the beat' is about as good a deterrent as you could ask for.  The criminals never know when one of the boys in blue is going to stroll around the corner.

 

If I recall correctly, Cleveland along with other cities, gave homeless people one way bus tickets to warm weather cities.  I know Boston, Detroit, Philly were all big in the news for doing this.

And now those warm cities are buying them more bus tickets.  Windfall for Greyhound.  I couldn't agree more about foot patrols.  Won't solve the underlying problem but it should help with all the open harassment.  That'll make the underlying problem easier to solve. 

I definitely understand the concerns about particularly aggressive panhandlers but the way some people describe the homeless problem downtown makes it sound like there are armies of beggars wandering the streets waiting to accost passersby at all hours of the day.  I grew up going to San Francisco regularly and right in the midst of thousands of pedestrians in the most high-profile areas there are always homeless people, panhandlers, beggars, and mentally unstable people that are sometimes aggressive!  Just bringing out that I saw more homeless there in one afternoon than I've ever seen in Cleveland the whole time I've lived here.  Unfortunately that is just an aspect of city-life, some cities have a bigger problem than others.  In my opinion our problem is fairly small.

I definitely understand the concerns about particularly aggressive panhandlers but the way some people describe the homeless problem downtown makes it sound like there are armies of beggars wandering the streets waiting to accost passersby at all hours of the day.  I grew up going to San Francisco regularly and right in the midst of thousands of pedestrians in the most high-profile areas there are always homeless people, panhandlers, beggars, and mentally unstable people that are sometimes aggressive!  Just bringing out that I saw more homeless there in one afternoon than I've ever seen in Cleveland the whole time I've lived here.  Unfortunately that is just an aspect of city-life, some cities have a bigger problem than others.  In my opinion our problem is fairly small.

 

And there in lies the problem. Rarely in Cleveland will you ever be surrounded by thousands of other people. The aggressive panhandlers can seem a lot more daunting to families or women who are on a sparsely populated street.

mrclifton88, I agree with what you are saying but the difference is that Cleveland lacks the pedestrian activity downtown to "dilute" the effect or appearance of these panhandlers, so it comes across as "many" since a higher percentage of the people you see, are panhandlers. 

The other aspect of this lack of other activity is that its easier for people to be sought out become "targets" of the panhandlers as it would be for a crowded sidewalk or touristy area.