NEOSCC Fair Housing Survey Released

As part of the Vibrant NEO 2040 planning process, NEOSCC is conducting a regional analysis of impediments to fair housing choice (often called a Regional AI).  Western Economic Services -  is helping us craft a useful Regional AI for all of the communities in our 12-county region.  

Working with Western Economic Services, we have created two surveys to help gauge the status of fair housing in our communities.  If you are involved in the housing industry please take some time to complete the survey.

 We have created two surveys.  One for government officials and one for housing stakeholders.  Our definition of "housing stakeholders" are people like an advocate/ service provider, banking/ finance, construction/ development, condo or homeowner association leader, insurance, law/ legal services, property management, real estate, or resident advisory council leader. 

Please fill out the most appropriate survey and forward both survey links to anyone else you think would like to participate in this research.  

Parks, Parks, and more Parks!

One of the more popular discoveries in the Conditions and Trends Platform is that 90% of NEO population is within 1 mile of a park or a green space.

The highest concentration of parks and protected spaces is in the center of the region, around the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Ravenna Arsenal in Summit and Portage Counties.

There are, however, areas concentrated along the edge of the region that are further than two miles from a park or protected space. These areas include western Lorain and Medina counties, southern Wayne and Stark Counties, and parts of Ashtabula, Trumbull, and Mahoning counties.

Redeveloping East Liberty Neighborhood, Pittsburgh

As part of a grantee peer-to-peer exchange in Pittsburgh, we were given a tour of the East Liberty Neighborhood redevelopment project.

From the East Liberty Development Corporation's website:

Our first community plan, A Vision for East Liberty, produced in 1999, helped guide our neighborhood's recovery from urban renewal efforts. Recognizing the success that followed the 1999 plan, we decided to come together again to include new and old neighbors and expand and refine our vision. Through a process of community meetings, a broad range of people who live, work, shop, play, worship, and invest in East Liberty shared our love for the neighborhood, our concerns, and our dreams for its future. The guiding principles below, which emerged from these meetings, will guide residents, developers, organizers, and stakeholders through the ever-evolving process of planning and development toward our community's goals.

Over the last 12 years, 1,400 high-rise public housing units have bee replaced by 450 new mixed-income units. The neighborhood has also attracted national retailers Home, Depot, Whole Foods and Target.

Learn more about the project:

• Download a copy of the 1999 Community Plan, A Vision For East Liberty, or the 2010 Community Plan, Many Voices Driving Neighborhood Change.
• The dramatic changes in East Liberty did not arise from the Community Plans alone. Planning and market research studies have informed the development progress of East Liberty and the entire East End.

At the first of our Metropolitan Planning Organization/Council of Governments workshops, at the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA), we discussed the overall status of the project, the upcoming scenario planning process, project outcomes/products and engagement.

This conversation was followed by brief roundtable discussions on four of our work streams:  Economic Development, Environment, Connections and Housing and Communities.   Utilizing the findings from the Conditions and Trends Platform, we engaged local leaders in exploring the following:

• What do these findings mean to you and your community?
• What do these findings mean to the region?
• What else do you need to know about your community?
• What else do you need to know about Northeast Ohio?

Over the course of the next month, we will be holding similar meetings with the other MPO's and COG's as well as leadership meetings within each of the 12 counties. All of this is in preparation for the scenario planning process which we will be launching in 2013.

Measuring Sustainable Progress

Translating sustainability and the triple bottom line  into accessible concepts and actions has long been a difficult aspect of broadening the audience and stakeholders for sustainability initiatives.  This has been particularly true in how everyone can take action.

At its recent Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summit, The City of Cleveland launched its new dashboard.  The new tool includes performance measures that will help to capture progress made along the 10 year initiative:

Measuring progress is essential to the success of Sustainable Cleveland. The performance indicators measure results, inform strategy, shine a light on what is working and they educate and inspire us through stories and metrics.

The framework focuses on sustainability initiatives in the areas of business, personal/social, built and natural. Most importantly, the site highlights how you can affect these areas at home, work and in your community.  While some of the measurements have yet to be published, it is definitely worth at look.  Visit the SC 2019 dashboard site to see where you can make a difference!