Written By: Tyisha Blade
The City of East Cleveland, in partnership with the Cuyahoga Land Bank continues to invite community members for collaborative efforts to reimagine and rebuild spaces in the city. Circle East District is a Land Bank initiative created to help revitalize the residential and commercial areas at East Cleveland’s gateway to University Circle. According to the website, the Connect East Cleveland initiative is an “interactive process to reimagine public spaces in East Cleveland through community collaboration.” ConnectEC recently presented the Public Open House 2.0 where stakeholders gathered at the Mickey’s building located on the corner of Woodlawn and Euclid Avenues to further discuss revitalization efforts.
The project’s concepts “encourage greater connectivity within the neighborhood; and between the neighborhood and amenities such as Lakeview Cemetery, Windermere & Superior Stations, and University Circle.” The process focuses on recommendations regarding the Circle East District’s development. During the Public Open House 2.0 event held July 14, attendees were given the opportunity to choose their favorite design options through interactive engagement stations. Design options were based on feedback received from attendants at a community meeting held April 20 at the Salvation Army on Doan Avenue.
Representatives at the Public Open House 2.0 guided participants through activities and answered questions about placemaking (creating places and focusing on transforming public spaces to strengthen the connections between people and these places). Design teams were able to share developments about public art, crosswalks, green spaces and other placemaking elements. Community members also discussed placekeeping (active care and maintenance of a place and its social fabric by the people who live and work there) and ways for residents to express creativity through collaboration.
Kamla Lewis is senior housing development project manager at the Land Bank. She said that initiatives such as Circle East District and Connect EC require a vast amount of community input. She also said that reimagining the city is greatly supported by community members; she looks forward to seeing the projects to fruition. “I love the way East Clevelanders participate,” Lewis said. “I have been doing this work for 30 years and I don’t have public meetings like this where people come up and hug me, except in East Cleveland.”
Each event builds onto the next and, Lewis said, a goal is to ensure that everyone is included in the process. Understanding that individuals learn, participate and interact in different ways, organizers considerately provide options that are inclusive at public input sessions. “For some it’s filling out a survey, others want to talk at a public meeting,” she noted. “Everyone participates in their own way.”
Another Connect EC initiative was the Neighborhood Walking Tour held May 24. The tour offered community members another option to participate in the city’s reimagination. The Land Bank welcomed community members to a tour of the Circle East District focus area. The tour began at the Mickey’s building; participants convened inside and were provided snacks and refreshments. Community members then chose between tours from Penrose or Woodlawn Avenues. Both streets are the focus for initial stages of redevelopment. The groups stopped at multiple places along the tour to discuss placemaking ideas together. “The walking tour was [provided] because some people need to look, feel and touch,” Lewis added. “They don’t want to see the streets on a map. They want to walk the streets to see what they want the community to look like, where they want benches and public art. That’s how they interact best.”
Lewis also mentioned that it is imperative for community members to participate in the process that reimagines and revitalizes their cities. “Particularly when it comes to African American neighborhoods, we’ve not had a say in [the process],” she said. “In the design field, African Americans are a tiny minority. The spaces aren’t generally being designed by people who are minorities. So, we think it’s really, really important that the community be involved, and we want to make sure that it’s done in a way that isn’t an academic thing that may be hard to understand.”
For more information on how to get involved and stay connected, you can visit connecteastcleveland.com.
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