Aaron M. Renn

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Sprawl In Its Purest Form, Cleveland Edition

March 16, 2018 By Aaron M. Renn

Jason Segedy tweeted the image below contrasting the amount of urbanized land in Cleveland's Cuyahoga County in 1948 vs. 2002. The county population was identical in both years: 1.39 million. I'm not a hater on suburbanization. Growing populations require new urbanized land on the fringes. But when population growth is flat or negative in a region, which is the case in Cleveland and many Rust Belt cities, then sprawl has negative effects. One of the them is the Chuck Banas quip that Buffalo has the same number of people, but three … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cleveland, Planning, Transport, and Environment

The Strange Case of Civic Identity in Northeast Ohio

February 6, 2018 By Aaron M. Renn

I was recently in Akron presenting a forthcoming paper of mine. One of the interesting things about the Northeast Ohio constellation of cities is that there's a very weak sense of regional identity. In almost any other context, Cleveland and Akron would be considered some type of twin city ecosystem. Consider: Dallas and Ft. Worth are 32 miles apart. Seattle and Tacoma are 34 miles about. Cleveland and Akron are 39 miles apart. Cleveland's Cuyahoga County and Akron's Summit County are also physically contiguous. Yet, Cleveland … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cleveland, Urban Culture

The Three Generations of Black Mayors in America

November 25, 2014 By Pete Saunders

[ This week is the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, so I'll be away and enjoying it for the rest of the week. As a holiday long read for you, I'm posting this very important piece about the three generations of black mayors in America and how the timing of the election of the first black mayor affected the trajectory of those cities, with implications even today. Pete is the best writer on urbanism and race that I know and you can read his writings about this and more on his site Corner Side Yard - Aaron. ] The Monument to Joe Louis, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Urban Culture

In-State vs. Out-of-State Migration

February 9, 2014 By Aaron M. Renn

My recent repost of an article on Columbus, Ohio's brand blew away the all time comment record for this blog, with 271 as of this writing. One the discussions was around the extent to which Columbus and other Ohio cities draw mostly from the state or from a broader area. Obviously with Ohio State University, Columbus has a massive in-state draw. But what about people from out of state? To try quantify this, I used the IRS migration data in my Telestrian system to sort out net migration into that which is with the state of Ohio, and that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus (Ohio), Demographics and Economic Development

Anorexic Vampires and the Pittsburgh Potty: The Story of Rust Belt Chic

August 21, 2012 By Richey Piiparinen

“Rust Belt Chic is the opposite of Creative Class Chic. The latter [is] the globalization of hip and cool. Wondering how Pittsburgh can be more like Austin is an absurd enterprise and, ultimately, counterproductive. I want to visit the Cleveland of Harvey Pekar, not the Miami of LeBron James. I can find King James World just about anywhere. Give me more Rust Belt Chic.” Jim Russell, blogger at Burgh Diaspora National interest in a Rust Belt “revival” has blossomed. There are the spreads in Details, Atlantic Cities, and Salon, as well as an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Urban Culture

Replay: The Decline of Civic Leadership Culture

June 25, 2010 By Aaron M. Renn

"Cleveland’s leadership has no apparent theory of change. Overwhelmingly, the strategy is now driven by individual projects. These projects, pushed by the real estate interests that dominate the board of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, confuse real estate development with economic development. This leads to the 'Big Thing Theory' of economic development: Prosperity results from building one more big thing."  - Ed Morrison, "Cleveland: Reconstructing the Comeback" Ed Morrison wrote the above about Cleveland, but he could have been … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Aaron M. Renn, Cleveland

Cleveland: What’s Wrong?

April 22, 2009 By Aaron M. Renn

Along with Detroit, Cleveland is the poster child for major Midwestern urban decline and a favorite punching bag for the national and international media. But Detroit's travails are easy to understand. Anyone can look at and attribute them to the auto industry and poor race relations. The reality is more complex, but at least Detroit lends itself to a narrative. Cleveland is a different story. What happened in Cleveland to cause this? Even I cannot come up with a "grand unified theory" of Cleveland, which those of you who read this blog know is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Aaron M. Renn, Cleveland

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About Aaron M. Renn


 
Aaron M. Renn is an opinion-leading urban analyst, consultant, speaker, and writer on a mission to help America’s cities and people thrive and find real success in the 21st century. (Photo Credit: Daniel Axler)
 
Email: aaron@aaronrenn.com
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