2013 May

15 May: Products: What is Working / What is Needed

Building Northeast Ohio’s future As part of the Vibrant NEO initiative NEOSCC is developing action products that focus on implementing, supporting, and highlighting current best practices and creating new tools, policy recommendations, and pilot projects that turn the Vibrant NEO vision into reality. There are a number of great projects, policies, and tools used in Northeast Ohio and we would like to know about them. While many challenges have unique elements based on your situation, often these same challenges have been analyzed and addressed in other parts of the region. That’s where NEOSCC can help! WHAT IS WORKING? The purpose of the “What is Working” request is so we can identify and organize great projects, policies, and tools into a user-friendly list on our website. If you know of a project, policy, or tool currently being used in Northeast Ohio, PLEASE CLICK HERE. Thanks!         WHAT IS NEEDED? The…

14 May: 2013 Youngstown State University Sustainable Energy Forum

The Youngstown State University Sustainable Energy Forum will be held on June 3-4, 2013 in Kilcawley Center on the YSU Campus. The fifth annual Forum will host more than 200 academicians, energy industry leaders, government officials, and entrepreneurs. The Forum focus is on technology that is imminently ready for commercialization, especially those technologies which will have a near-term positive impact on commercial, industrial and residential energy savings. The 2013 YSU Sustainable Energy Forum will place a particular focus on: Sustainable and clean energy technologies that are being successfully implemented within the region. Natural Gas and Water resources Additive Manufacturing and the impact on energy and energy technology. A key objective of the YSU Sustainable Energy Forum is collaboration building amongst attendees. In past years, entrepreneurs have teamed up with students/faculty to successfully pursue sponsored research funding. Researchers have also engaged large energy companies for insights and opportunities. And all attendees gain a clearer…

10 May: Cleveland’s Complete and Green Streets

  The City of Cleveland passed a Complete and Green Streets ordinance in September 2011. In effect as of January 2012, the ordinance requires implementation of sustainable policies and guidelines in all construction projects within the public right of way. This ordinance will create a walking, biking and public transportation-friendly city while reducing environmental impact by incorporating green infrastructure. Some characteristics of Complete and Green Streets include enhanced transit waiting environments, bicycle lanes and signs, pedestrian refuges, public art, waste containers, crosswalk enhancements, ADA accessibility, way-finding signage, permeable pavement, green space or trees and multi-use paths.   Cleveland has began the process of creating a Complete and Green Streets Typology and Design Manual to assist in implementing the Complete and Green Streets Ordinance. We currently have an inter-organizational task force overseeing this process. The Task Force has classified streets into 10 different types, each with its own priorities for pedestrians, vehicles,…

09 May: WKSU Story…Citizens plan the future of NE Ohio

WKSU, Mark Urycki: If you’d like to build an expressway that links Beachwood to Youngstown, you’ve had your chance to suggest it. Groups of people have been gathering in cities around Northeast Ohio this week to make suggestions about the future growth of the region. It’s all being funded by a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Obama Administration is handing out grant money in hopes of saving much larger sums in the long run. The Partnership for Sustainable Communities is an effort by HUD, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. EPA. They’re hoping that better designed communities will mean less waste building new roads and housing developments while the old ones just crumble. The Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium has been asking locals how to do that this week. April 1 – May 2, sessions were held across Northeast Ohio. The…

08 May: Fund releases “What Matters to Metros” Report

Economic research plays an essential role in guiding the work of the Fund Fund for Our Economic Future, and helps them identify what matters and other key priorities in their work to advance a growing, opportunity-rich economy for the people of Northeast Ohio.   What Matters to Metros™: Foundational Indicators for Economic Competitiveness helps community leaders identify factors that are associated with economic growth in mid-sized U.S. metropolitan areas in a post-recession economy. Download the Fund’s report and its appendices. This work builds upon six previous iterations (called the Dashboard of Economic Indicators) and assesses the relationship of 55 variables to economic growth across four measures: per capita income, gross metropolitan product (GMP), productivity and employment, between 1990 and 2011. Together, higher education and innovation remain critical ingredients for prosperous, productive communities that generate higher incomes, but are not associated with overall job growth over the period. Many metros that experienced high levels of employment growth…

07 May: Mahoning River Corridor Initiative

The Mahoning River flows through the eastern portion of the NEOSCC planning area before it eventually empties into the Ohio River in Pennsylvania. The Mahoning River was once considered the heart of the steel industry in the United States, where industrial development grew the cities of Youngstown, Warren, Newton Falls, Struthers and many others along its winding path. Commonly known as “The Valley,” this region experienced massive hemorrhaging of industrial and manufacturing jobs in the 1970s and 1980s. The result was population decline and disinvestment in traditional neighborhoods and urban centers that continues today. Additionally, the environmental impact of the industry in The Valley has made the Mahoning River infamous. The river is the only surface water body in Northeast Ohio where the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) has labeled its waters unfit for human contact from Warren to the Pennsylvania state line. More detailed information on the latest…

06 May: Imagine MyNEO! Teaser: Survey Results from EarthFest 2013

NEOSCC is proud to have participated in this year’s new and improved EarthFest, hosted by Earth Day Coalition at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. As part of our exhibition at EarthFest, we hosted a short three-question survey that previewed some of the decisions Northeast Ohio residents will be faced with in our upcoming online game focused on scenario planning.  This Summer, NEOSCC will be launching an on-line engagement tool entitled Imagine MyNEO! that is based on an the open source software, Crowd Gauge. Imagine MyNEO! will allow the entire region to share their priorities with the Vibrant NEO process. In this survey, participants were first asked to describe the community they live in as urban, suburban, or rural. Next, they were prompted to identify up to three sustainability issues that they feel are important for the region. Lastly, they were asked to select what kind of Northeast Ohio they would like to live in, based…

01 May: Great launch to Vibrant NEO Workshops

Discussing the challenges and opportunities of Northeast Ohio’s future clearly strikes a chord with residents, at least if Tuesday evening is any indication. More than 200 residents and community leaders turned out Tuesday evening to plan a better, stronger, more sustainable future for our region.  Attendees at the Vibrant NEO Workshops in Warren and Oberlin were engaged and energetic to discuss the future.  We hope to see you tonight in Cleveland or Canton or tomorrow in Akron or Warrensville Heights.