1) going to cleveland–especially downtown is not the move in the middle of the winter. there is significantly more active street life in and around downtown in the spring and summer–though nowhere near what it was in the 50’s and 60’s and certainly does not near the street life of larger cities but is typical of most mid-cize cities including baltimore where life social life is found around the edges but not in the center of downtown.

2) Cleveland, as you accurately stated is often talked about in the past in terms of success. Of note would be the The Flat, which while around the edge is still very much industrial, until the recession that occured after 9-11 was a very acctive entertainment destination. A large redevelopment for it was approved–and then the real estate market crashed in 2007.

3) Cleveland is also one of those place where innovation is quite niche–i.e. only in very discreet ways. It is the home to the most successful bio-enterprise firm in the country, world renowned Cleveland Clinic, one of the top medical schools at Case Western Reserve,

4) Cleveland is a bevy of innovative urban planning projects that although took a long time because the city has been poor for a long time have recieved significant recognition. The Euclid rapid bus corridor which connects rapid lite rail transit to the Euclid corridor. it recently was honored for its steps at “reimagining Cleveland”, a best practice platform to help city residents have input on what has to happen with such population growth shrinking the real estate foot print. This phenonomenon, of course is something almost every old mid-sized city, midwestern or not faces.

5) The typical cleveland house is not a single family bungalow. It is a two story, generally up and down, two family home. The majority of which were built from the depression to world war II–approximately 22k. They were seen as wealth generators for the working class folks in cleveland’s various industries. White flight left many behind as rental properties only or blight.