Reimagining a More Sustainable Cleveland Initiative 

Fast Company
April 2009
By Abha Bhattarai

One of America`s most blighted cities, hard hit by rustification and foreclosure, is also home to one of its loveliest urban initiatives, a plan to create acres of tree nurseries, oases of native plants, and community gardens with bees and chickens. Devised at Kent State University`s Urban Design Collaborative, the strategy is part of Reimagining a More Sustainable Cleveland Initiative, funded by the city and the Surdna Foundation. It`s meant to boost property values and community spirit in neighborhoods plagued by vacant lots and condemned buildings. A proposed "Mow-to-Own" program will encourage neighbors to maintain nearby lots, while a variety of land-reuse projects point to a greener future -- a solar array in a previously empty 3-acre lot, for example, will provide enough power for 200 homes.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/135/fast-cities-cleveland.html

In a year like this, we need a city upon a hill. Seattle, Fast Company`s City of the Year, not only sprawls across seven hills but also boasts the ingredients that we believe will bring our communities -- and country -- back to prosperity: smarts, foresight, social consciousness, creative ferment. This year, singular bright ideas have earned 12 other cities -- Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Malmö, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Taipei, Tucson, and Vancouver -- places on our honor roll. Their exemplary initiatives are improving neighborhoods, transforming lives, and helping build better, faster cities for the future.

http://www.fastcompany.com/cities/2009