At one time, Cleveland was one of the major steel producing centers in the United States. It was a major port on the Great Lakes feeding the steel industry by bringing in iron ore, and also by shipping out things such as crops. As the railroad became more and more popular, it helped stimulate Cleveland as a major port even more so because as the ships brought in the goods we could send them to the Midwest. Cleveland was also home to the wealthiest industrialists whose philanthropic support of the arts made the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Museums of Art and History and Playhouse Square destinations for not only it’s residents but tourists as well. Being an industrial leader was a double edged sword in that the abundance of natural recourses encouraged abuse that led to pollution and destruction which can be graphically illustrated by the burning of the Cuyahoga River.
The loss of Republic Steel, Oglebay Norton, Hanna Mining and BP, to name a few companies, contributed to Cleveland’s decline. The loss of jobs led to the draining of population and monies from the city and the region as a whole. Cleveland schools also suffered during forced busing further leading to a loss of quality education and population.
The revitalization of Cleveland lags behind, its rust belt sister cities for numerous reasons. These reasons, according to some readers of the Plain Dealer, can be delineated into local and or regional problems and possible solutions. On a local level Cleveland must provide a more diversified pool of employment by expanding its focus from just the health care industry to other industries as well. It must encourage new business by providing a clean and safe environment as well as a quality school system for the employees of these new businesses. Tax incentives, better infrastructure and safe and quality housing within the city is a must. The politics of the city must also change and the parade of one party leadership (or the lack thereof) that has been lackluster at best and colored by cronyism and corruption must be changed. As Harry Truman once said, “A leader has to lead; otherwise he has no business in politics.” In order to move forward the city of Cleveland needs bold, energetic, and dynamic leadership.
On a regional level the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio must work together to attract new industry and businesses by making college education affordable and offering incentives to graduates who accept employment and live in North East Ohio. The city and state must join together to market our region as our sister rust belt cities do with a comprehensive public relations plan that seeks business and tourism on a global scale. Tax incentives for industries, the development of a public rail transportation system throughout the state as well as the reclamation and preservation of our lakefront and other natural resources must me fostered.
I don’t see a thriving metropolitan corridor existing in the Cuyahoga Valley between Akron and Cleveland in the future. The best use of the resource is protecting it within the park system within which it lies and promoting tourism by expanding the activities currently existing there. Certainly small private farms and related businesses as well as bed and breakfasts, skiing facilities, hiking and biking businesses should be encouraged and supported. The preservation of this important part of the history between Cleveland and Akron can be insured by its rebirth as a tourist destination and wildlife sanctuary.
These are devastating times for the city of Cleveland, but it can survive these seismic setbacks because the city has must to recommend it; world class universities, museum and medical facilities, Lake Erie and land
ripe for development.
12 comments:
according to this, you seem to think it will not rise from the ashes...very thoughtful prose...thanks, however, you make the comment that "Cleveland lags behind it's rust belt sister cities"...what have these sister cities done to turn things around a bit??...curious if you found some answers in your research.
BTW...make sure you cite your sources...
There is a lot to comment on here.
Thank you for bringing up so many thoughts about the area and city.
At times you sound like a spokesperson for the city, while at others you express so many doubts about it.
I like the discussion of various regional economic approaches. You have broadened our thinking with some of your suggestions. The next voyage we take will be to visit some of those small farms.
I'm not sure where the complaint about the leadership comes from. What caused you to take the blog in that direction?
In fact, where did you get much of this information anyway?
Thanks for adding the pics. They must be from another source as well, because we had too crumby of a day to get good shots like that.
Source citations aren't important in blogging. This isn't a paper, if you doubt something, you have the internet, look it up.
I liked the "double-edged sword" metaphor, I think that it casts the early capitalists of Cleveland in a different light.
I read The Plain Dealer.
It seems like many of us are on the same page with this whole "metropolitan corridor" concept.
Good use of diction and command of words.
citations are important!!...you need to learn to credit others for their intellectual property...and this exercise in blogging is more akin to a paper than simply an opinion piece...it is a journal of our collective experience...it is only good use of diction and command of words if they are in fact your own...otherwise it is simply stealing. Period.
These entries are journals. They are formal, and they are class assignments. They should be researched and taken seriously. If they borrow from another source they should cited. The citation does not have to follow a certain format, but should tell the reader where the information came from. Then the reader can go to the source if they so wish. It is not the job of the reader to guess at or hunt for sources.
This is a blog. While it is possible to take the posts seriously, it is not an appropriate medium for "formal" assignments.
I don't blog for AP Government or AP English.
While I thank you for your opinion Cyrus, I want to be clear. I developed the assignment, therefore if I want the writing formal, than it is formal. My college professors have not hesitated to challenge or correct blog entries, so I think it is perfectly legitimate for us to do so concerning Valley Voyages. Perhaps your other teachers should be using this forum as well.
By the way, everyone should check out the new website layout. Nice job Mr. Johansson.
I absolutely love the new Layout. It is very...innovative? I don't think that is the right word. But I like it. And I agree that work needs to be cited if it isn't yours. It's just the right thing to do. And my original comment for this post...I liked the pictures a lot and I was wondering why the many art based places in Cleveland don't bring more people to cleveland. The cleveland orchestra is one of the best orchestras in the country and there is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the museum. It really surprises me that more people don't come to the city for those.
Well since anyone here has hardly commented at all on the journal entry itself and instead the decision as to whether or not we need proper source citations in our journal entries, I will say something about the entry actually.
I very much agree with Cleveland's lag behind other cities in revitalization. As a visitor i see the decline of the city every time I make my way there for one event or another. One source of income that both the city of Cleveland and also the Cleveland School District lack is the income from any type of casino source. Voters have taken on this issue one to many times in our city, and while the citizens that have voted it down see it as the demise to our city, they also don't see the vital income it would bring to the city and the schools.
Maybe the casinos would bring more money to cleveland, and temproarily more people, but what about people who live there who don't think it is a good idea? Families with morals that don't inlcude casinos in their city might not stay in the city. we could lose a fair amount of people that way. But there is always a chance we could gain some as well. Maybe it is worth a try.
Raising the casino issue from this discussion shows our group thinking outside the box agian. Nice work. Do others have thoughts on this issue?
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