Cleveland 5

The Green City on a Blue Lake

"Forty-eight years ago, on an ordinary Sunday in June, the city of Cleveland’s environmental reputation went up in flames — literally. The Cuyahoga River, which runs through Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie, caught fire due to its immensely polluted water. This event set the stage for how Cleveland would be perceived for decades to come: as a symbol of environmental degradation.

In 2009, Mayor Frank Jackson decided to alter this negative image of Cleveland by launching the Sustainable Cleveland initiative, a 10-year plan to transform the “Mistake on the Lake” into the “Green City on a Blue Lake.” The goal was, and remains, to see the City of Cleveland recognized as a thriving, environmentally friendly community by 2019—the 50th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River fire."

Wednesday I cycled down the Cuyahoga River on a cycle track; a fascinating journey on new cycle tracks through stockyards and industrial remnants. There are still active heavy industry plants here, which is a very rare sight in the west these days. A beautiful day too.

In the evening I joined Danielle for a conference dinner, met a lot of interesting people.