Forty years ago, the Cuyahoga River that cuts through the heart of Cleveland caught on fire for the thirteenth time. Yesterday, I mentioned to a coworker that Mrs. bluegill and I might be headed that direction soon to visit friends. Less than impressed, my coworker only curtailed her explanation of how awful Cleveland is when I explained that she actually knew the friends we're going to visit. "Well," she said, "if you're going to see them."
Dates and plans are yet to be finalized but we will, in fact, be going to see them. Lots of them. Despite Cleveland's decades-long reputation for nastiness, somebody was smart enough to recognize its assets AND to formally announce a collaborative plan to capitalize on them in an effort to attract like-minded people.
We are those people.
The high-level objective of the District of Design Project is to define Cleveland as the product design capital of the US…the Milan of the Midwest.
Fostering a culture that values design and innovation is critical to this project and three key elements are critical to this effort: 1) creating a definable heart to the design community, 2) improving our ability to manage the creative process, and 3) raising awareness.
The District of Design takes the first step in fostering a design culture. The district is a concentrated area of Downtown Cleveland that is comprised of wholesale consumer product showrooms, design studios and the infrastructure to support world-class design and product development.
Northeast Ohio possesses many of the key ingredients to be a leader in design and innovation. By fostering a design culture, drawing on regional assets and capitalizing on the increasing design awareness, the region can position itself as a long-term leader in design and innovation. This emphasis will result in top-line revenue growth that will strengthen the regional economy.
So, regardless of how far along they actually are in realizing their vision, sometime in the near future we'll be spending time and money in the blocks above looking to find not only innovative design or redevelopment strategies to steal but little bits of ourselves as well. It's almost as if we want to identify with something and they know it.
Agreed upon message : Identified target : Intended result : Shazam.
It has been probably 6 years since I last semi'ed my way thru & around Cleveland.
ReplyDeleteYet even probably 5 years prior to that I could see significant change taking place all over Cuyahoga County.
The rundown was being either renovated thru adaptive resue or replaced with strutures that blended well with what was around them.
As with most of the old Steel towns they've figured out how to do it.
Agreed in many cases they got there by doing some of it wrong on first attempt, but rather than deter the efforts it reinforced their determination.
Would that we here in New Albany could catch that fever to improve our lot in existence.
So Mr & Mrs Bluegill, go forth, enjoy your trip, and bring us back some tips we can use here.
Interesting note about Cleveland, the national headquarters of the United Church of Christ is located downtown near the arena. There is even a hotel affiliated with the denomination (and connected to the headquarters) down there as well.
ReplyDeleteBefore first visiting “the mistake on the lake” three years ago, I too did not hold Cleveland in high regard. I was most pleasantly surprised once I finally got there. A century ago, Cleveland was an industrial giant, an extremely wealthy city. Much of that wealth was invested in cultural institution, endowments, universities and the Cleveland Clinic. While the population has declined, the cultural investments remain and are still paying dividends. Cleveland has tremendous old buildings and a wonderful view of the lake. Add in Severance Hall, Rock and Roll Museum, arguably the nation’s greatest symphonic orchestra, a world class art museum, and beautiful neighborhood like Shaker Heights, and you have possibly the most underrated city in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the input on Cleveland but I think I may not have been clear in my post. It's not about whether Cleveland is great or awful or really about Cleveland at all.
ReplyDeleteThe gist:
Someone in a city I know little about beyond negative stereotypes took the time to form a collective around common interests, adopted a specific message about their activities, and sent it out to people whom they thought might appreciate it.
As a person who does appreciate it, I'm not only going to check it out in person as soon as I get a chance but I've also already shared it with others who I think might find it interesting as well.
Hence,
Agreed upon message : Identified target : Intended result : Shazam.
As someone interested in communication who lives in a community that continually struggles with the very first "agreed upon message" bit, I find it instructive when I notice efforts that begin with it and end in "intended result".
It all goes back to a) what kind of community do we want to be, b) what are we going to do to facilitate becoming it and c) how and to whom do we communicate that to drum up interest and increase the chances of participation.
Also, anyone who clicked through far enough to read the contributors and resources section of the project web site found that The City of Cleveland, i.e., city government, is only one of many key organizations. They are not leading the effort. They're playing a role.
I think there are several worthwhile lessons here.