Posted April 17, 200619 yr The past 20 years I've been an avid Cleveland historian making my family home in Lakewood having been turned onto this forum by my brother BizBiz... I make the following statement and inquiry... I often sit on my back porch listening to the sounds of the city at night thinking about what my neighborhood was like 90 years ago when my house and neighborhood was built I always think about two scenarios past and present... Past: 90 years ago, 1916 My neighborhood and house were being built: basements dug by hand houses assembled without blueprints farm fields became urban areas streets of brick basements were second thoughts driveways were not paved triple track storm windows were not invented milk paint no TV Electricity - knob and tube with one outlet per room French doors Hard wood floors Current: 2006 Are Urban areas an anachronism? I love my small urban yard and carefully tend to every square foot of it I watch my neighbors houses decay I see my cities schools fail At night, I lay awake, pretending it is 1916, listening to the trains and ships horns in the morning, I browse the Internet on my high speed Internet connection fed by wiring snaked though 100 year old poles and trees At noon I gaze at my houses natural woodwork, large windows and classic style thinking about the time and effort that it took to create it Later that day, I watch my neighborhood decline as another section 8 house opens up and the moving truck backs over the grass and original sandstone sidewalk The sandstone sidewalk crushes and crumples into small cracked pieces under the weight of the trucks wheels while the new houses occupants toss a cigarette butt onto my driveway I think I will never leave my urban life in suburban Cleveland never, for anything Tonight, for some reason, I thought about the future 90 years from now urban Cleveland, 2096 Sadly, I'm fairly certain my house and neighborhood will not be here it will be destroyed probably by war or urban renewal or because of lack of maintenance... the neighborhood would be 180 years old it's only 90 now and on the verge of failure Where do you think your urban neighhood will be in 90 years?
April 17, 200619 yr Welcome to the forums big brother! Lakewood.. ah, the city we all know and love. I do feel that in 90 years a lot will happen to your city. Parts of Lakewood will remain the way they are while other parts of the city will decay and fade quickly into something else, maybe over the course of several era's/generations in the next 90 years. I don't see much change to the victorians and beautiful mansions that line Edgewater, Lake, and Clifton, but I do see some change in the near future, up and down Madison and Detroit. The way we view parts of Lakewood now, will be most influenced by the success or failure of the new low-rise townhomes/condo's being constructed. If they succeed, which so far have, then expect to see older establishments torn down to make way for new ones. In 90 years, your street and your specific block may be no more than a big park full of grass or a brownfield while on the other hand, it could survive quite well once people see the value of living innercity, especially when peak oil occurs. The houses in your neighborhood of Lakewood have managed to survive 90 years, but it's the next 90 that will be the time when they can quickly deteriorate without the proper maintenance. Lakewood has lost a lot of residents (>5000) in recent years and unless major urban renewal begins here and now (which appears to be happening thankfully), you may see some increased poverty and crime issues, as is currently being seen on the far eastern-edge of Lakewood between Madison and Clifton. Gentrification is slowly taking place in a number of Cleveland's west-side neighborhood's, Detroit Shoreway being the latest and most rapidly developing - this will push a lot of the poorer and less-privileged families out of these neighborhoods and into other nearby parts of the city such as the Stockyards and Cudell, which will then cause those people to move outward into the closest suburbs (e.g. Brooklyn and Lakewood). However, I would say that no matter how much Lakewood suffers in the next 90 years, it will be nothing compared to the likes of Parma, East Cleveland, and Garfield/Maple Hts. Lakewood is lakefront, it has a renowned library system, it's right next to a public beach, to downtown, and has great RTA access, plus Lakewood "owns" the gold coast, which is one hell of an asset. What do the other inner-rings have to support their spines when the city comes crashing down? But what happens when Cleveland becomes a big success again and all of the problems that Cleveland is facing today are eventually pushed into the inner-ring suburbs? What do the inner-rings have to fall back on? They don't have any sports teams, museums, Cleveland Clinic's, downtowns, or entertainment districts to rely on when the problems start. And that's why the aforementioned suburbs will suffer heavily (isn't it already happening to East Cleveland?) However, I do feel that Lakewood may be able to sustain itself with the continued residential developments along the arterial rodes in the city.
April 17, 200619 yr ^ You're awesome, Mr. X! :wink: I also live in Lakewood (for 10 years) and see the changes happening around me. Consider several things: > Within the metro area, which I will divide into five basic areas (Cleveland's core, Cleveland's outer neighborhoods, the inner-ring suburbs, the outer suburbs, and the rural fringe), only three of those five have opportunities for enhancing their taxbase (Cleveland's core, the outer suburbs, and the rural fringe). The reason is that, under this state's policies (which has the greatest impact on regional land use), the most significant way a municipality can grow its taxbase is to offer vacant land to developers. The only reason why Cleveland's core can offer that is because it has had the time to move through the stages of growth, build-out, age, decay and abandonment. If this state has stronger policies and programs to enable municipalities to afford renovating or replacing their building stock, these stages need not apply anymore. > Consider also the last 50 years or so of Americans' incomes and the availability of debt/credit. Individuals in this nation were able to secure higher wages through unionization and, for a time, being the only true economic superpower in the world. Prior to World War II, a much larger percentage of Americans couldn't afford to own their homes or cars and didn't have the access to debt/credit that we have had in the past 40 years or so. And, for better or worse, we're not the only kid on the economic block anymore. That competition, rising costs and other factors are forcing American household incomes to flatten out (which was masked somewhat since the 1970s by women joining the workforce). We keep trying to enhance our standard living by relying on more debt/credit, to the point that this may not be sustainable much longer. The ultimate outcome is that all these new subdivisions of Mcmansions at the urban fringe may not be sustainable much longer. Remember that, in the course of 1,000 years of city-building, the concept of urban sprawl (increasing a metro's land area at a rate faster than that metro area is increasing in population) is still a very recent occurrence. Who knows when this phenomenon will burst? > One trigger to bursting that bubble and causing Americans' to live more frugal lives (as many in the rest of the world do) could be peak oil. Where will we be in 90 years when it comes to oil-fueled suburban sprawl that we've enjoyed? Remember that oil is, without a doubt, the most energy-dense resource on this planet. There's nothing else that comes close to it in terms of its affordability, portability and energy density. Some contend that after we crest the peak in global oil supplies (which may be occurring at this moment), the housing bubble will burst, numerous bankruptcy filings will ensue and people will be forced to live within their means again. On that score, living in older neighborhoods like Lakewood, which has smaller homes, you can walk or take transit everywhere, and allows people to live more frugal lives may become attractive if not essential. Again, we're looking 90 years into the future, and my scenario may be as strange a concept today as urban sprawl was to our grandfathers or great grandfathers 90 years ago. Ultimately, there's no way to know. But given what I see happening in Greater Cleveland, the nation and the world, I am very happy to be living where I am and I suspect I'll stay either here or maybe move downtown if/when I can afford it. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 17, 200619 yr wow - pretty heavy stuff. Cincinnati in 90 years? will have just completed the first building taller than the Carew Tower (the 3rd major building since the Queen City Square in 2010) will have just recorded it's 50,000th downtown resident and will still be 10 years behind the rest of the world! Cleveland in 90 years? - will be on the eve of it's first Superbowl. ;) (I wish my house had the character of your's NewWorld...)
April 17, 200619 yr New World; I have definitely been where you are. After all, I have lived in a slum for 20 years. Some things to consider: These cities were fascinating dense active places 90 years ago, but they had lots of problems too. Have you ever seen the book "how the other half lives" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486220125/qid=1145289264/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/104-4705873-9703950?s=books&v=glance&n=283155? It was written about 90 years ago and documented the destitution of NYC. Life was short and cheap for most people then. Cleveland and Cincy had much of the same problems with illiteracy, crime, hunger, rats, filth etc... Some suggestions for now: Get active in the community. I try to the best of my ability to do everything in the hood (groceries, church, social gatherings, work, volunteer, community council etc...) It is a great feeling to do business with neighbors. I believe neighborhood success depends on building a community. However this community that you are building is not all sweetness. An urban community is not just your Friends. It is acquaintances, strangers on the street and even enemies. City life is not meant to be the peaceable kingdom that you imagine it was 90 years ago. It is filled with struggle and strife, everyday work, weddings, divorces and funerals; murders and births; struggle for control and dirty politics, slumlords and crackheads. Maybe join or start a home-owner's association that advocates for policies that will increase property value. However, if things are really un-fixable, move to a neighborhood that is going in the right direction. No point in being a martyr.
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