In 2020 - the year, and with such vision - what postcard do you want to send from your hometown of Cleveland... the "Cleveland of my Dreams" vision above, or the the toxic "Nightmare in Cleveland" reality planned for us by ODOT, below, which is planned to be worse than anyone ever imagined. By 2020, ODOT plans to blight the entire dream zone of the Cleveland Flats and the East and West banks of the Cuyahoga River Valley shown in these renderings, and surrounding neighborhoods, even worse than they and the port have blighted there today. By 2020, ODOT will have finished their slash of concrete and steel rendered in the nightmare reality below, destroying these opportunity zones as freeways have destroyed so much else in NEO. Read on to see how we may be able to make these mightmare visions dreamy, instead.

NEO Mainstreet founder, Cleveland Institute of Art design graduate and current Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative planning masters student Joseph Stanley has a more intelligent design for the future of Cleveland than the leaders of our community have embraced - Joseph sees Cleveland becoming a livable city of walkable neighborhoods and great public transportation leading to a vibrant economy desirable to all intelligent people of the world - a world class city rising up from the blight created by so many generations of greed and ignorance. Picture the rendering above versus the reality embraced by NEO leadership below, as discussed throughout the NEO Signature Bridge area of REALNEO.

If you could live in a place like shown above... a Cambridge... would you? Would this be a place for your children to settle... would this attract the next generation of knowledge workers and new economy leaders? Or, are you counting on everyone in NEO wanting to live in Crocker Parks, driving polluting cars for hours each day, and finding their arts and culture in the exurbs? Be real... what do you see for your children's futures?... An out-of-date, old-fashioned ranch home isolated on 6 acres in Medina or a cool, energy efficient, glassy loft overlooking the Cuyahoga River, in a vibrant walkable community...  what do you want for yourself in your old age, and even now? Do you really think the picture below is a better plan for your community... for your Flats... for your Cuyahoga River Valley... for Northeast Ohio?

As Steven Litt has made clear, it is his understanding the reason Cleveland is ending up with such poor planning and architecture is that the citizens of this region are apathetic - you the people don't care what our city and region look like or its prospects for the future. Obviously, Joe Stanley, Steven and I each care... we see some things differently, but we care and share our caring with others. If you care, a simple way to show that is post a comment here saying which type of community you feel will be better for Cleveland - the blighted image shown below or the livable image created by Joseph Stanley above. Showing you care is the least you can do