If You Think the Cleveland Economy is Rough You Must Not Live in Detroit or Kansas City

Cleveland's economy still isn't bouncing back, but other Midwest cities are facing economic challenges that Cleveland officials haven't even considered.

The Cleveland School district will close 18 of its 107 schools at the end of this semester.

Ron Ramsey, the schools' Director of Financial Services, said that while the closings should save the district approximately $16 million, they won't be a cure-all.

"It's not enough," Ramsey said. "Other cost saving measures will be implemented.

Kansas City is undergoing a much more drastic reduction, closing 46 percent of its school buildings (28 of 61) after the final bell.

Ramsey said Cleveland's school never considered a reduction of that magnitude.

Detroit has considered an economic improvement plan that would involve downsizing the town and converting abandoned buildings back into farmland.
Cleveland is not at that crisis stage, according to Ned Hill, the Dean of Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs.

"Cleveland's economy is performing in the middle of the pack of major cities," he said. "The unemployment numbers are a little above the national average."

"The problem in Detroit is that there are no alternative uses for the land," Hill added. "If the value of the land has fallen so low that you're thinking about Farmer Greenjeans, you're just managing a decline.

Dr. Soji Adelaja, the director of Michigan State University's Land Policy Institute, articulated the Detroit plan in his presentation called Connecting Detroit to the New Green Economy," which he delivered at an economic summit in January.

"Detroit has one of the nation's largest inventories of vacant land," Adelaja said in his presentation. "The Detroit region can surprise the nation by putting together the nation's most powerful regional growth strategy ever."

Some elements of the strategy include:

n Improving and connecting green spaces;

n Creating a new economic sector around agriculture;

n Right-sizing the city and its infrastructure; and

n Overcoming urban food deserts.

"From a Cleveland perspective," Hill said, "there is true value in promoting green space, both in recreation in gardening as part of the community's activity."

While Cleveland's cityscape won't be turning into a bucolic farm scene anytime soon, Hill said Clevelanders may find value in getting their hands dirty.

"There is some interest in inner-city Cleveland in promoting neighborhood gardens," he said. "There's also a proposal for an inner-city vineyard."

Hill recognizes that Cleveland is looking to alter its economic structure with the Medical Mart and casino projects.

"The casino will only have value to stop the outflow of gambling revenue and tax money," Hill said. "It's not a game changer in the economic future of this region."

The Medical Mart idea has a chance to succeed, according to Hill, if it can rise above being a convention center.

"Any convention center outside of Las Vegas is hemorrhaging money," he said, "but with the amount and quality of medicine we have in Cleveland, and since the operating costs are lower here than in New York City, it's a reasonable investment."