The city of Cleveland, when it is not as prosperous and economically efficient, is slow moving. The steel mill is a good example of that. Nothing was running because of the poor economy. Cleveland might be slower to rebound as well because of the industries that move out and start up in other cities and states, like the Sherwin-Williams speaker mentioned.
What encouraged me though, was the steel mill and how Cleveland is able to produce it's own steel, which can be used for a number of things like construction equipment and appliances. I think a city that is able to produce it's own steel is a lot better off than other cities.
What worries me is how the Port Authority speaker mentioned that there are few exports leaving the city by ship, at least. There are many imports from foreign countries, but we aren't shipping out our own goods as much as we are receiving, which seems to me like an economic problem. Also, I think more people need to move into the city. Buildings could be better used as apartments, in my opinion.
The river links the cities of Akron and Cleveland but more so in the past than in the present. I would hope the river would increase connections between Akron and Cleveland in the future because I think if they were better connected, they could grow more prosperously. They could combine resources more effectively to provide what the other city lacks and both cities could thrive. The area seems to be lacking trade which could be brought in by a new convention center that would attract more business that other metropolitan areas have.
All together, I liked the steel mill most because I like learning about the metal and what goes into it to make it. I liked the machinery and the general appearance of the mill. I didn't like hats because they gave me a headache, but I thought it was kind of neat hearing the speaker talk through the headsets.
Feelings for First Semester
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Five months have passed so quickly as we are moving on to the last week of
first semester in a period of seven days. We have had great times being
busy, la...
10 years ago
4 comments:
nice post...you spoke of turning more buildings into living space and more people moving back to the city, however, those people need a vibrant "industry" in order to pay for the new accommodations...just a thought as to how all things are connected.
This is one of the most complete, best journals so far. I appreciate the thoughtfulness you put into your answers, and like how the writing flows.
When you mention the things that trouble you, like the trade imbalance, I wonder if Cleveland isn't just a microcosm of the struggles of the whole US economy?
One thing many people miss is that we are a service economy now. That means you won't see "stuff" loaded onto ships. It also means the industry Mr Loman spoke of might be easy to overlook, because its hidden as just another office building. I wonder, what dangers there are in not manufacturing anything anymore?
Why does a steel-producing city have a leg up? As we've seen, the steel industry is entirely dependent on other industries. When those industries slow down, the entire steel business is almost completely shut down.
When we went to the port authority, I was also fidgeting about the seemingly-absent Cleveland exports. I fear that foreign steel is more cost-effective and results in lower demand for an American-made product. Thankfully, all public projects have to be completed with American materials.
People aren't going to move into an area that isn't going to do anything for them. In order to foster residential growth, the City has some serious grievances to address.
I feel that the Akron-Cleveland connection in the modern era is very vague, but I'd be interested to hear more about this "resource pooling". It sounds like an interesting, and possibly beneficial concept.
I like your idea about the people moving into Cleveland and that buildings could be better used as apartments. It would definitely help the economy if more people moved in and if the number of jobs could go up, that would obviously help too.
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