What was Taken: University Circle

That's right, University Circle legitimately had a circle in the past! The circle was where the streetcar lines split, with one continuing east on Euclid and one down Stearns Rd. and eastbound on Cedar Ave. With the streetcars removed pre-70s, the strain began on the local economy and the local citizens. Slowly the SFH began to give-way to additional development from Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University.

This is not good or bad since we are not NIMBYs here, but it is notable how the area around University Circle lost population/tax base since the streetcar left. How many neighborhoods must we see lose homes and citizens because they were left to the whims of private corporations. How could people let this happen?

Private Corporations boiled them like frogs! The streetcars removal made private cars the most convenient way of travel, and automakers sold us the American dream requiring cars. Couple this with the manufacturing industry leaving the area, folks were unable to maintain their cars and homes. This was ideal for private corporations as they were able to buy the empty lots or convince the city to demolish so they avoid paying for it. This is a battle of attrition that we(everyday citizens) are losing.

Here is what happened to the above neighborhood:

This is the worst parts of our current economic development environments. People lost their homes not even for up-zoned housing, but ball-fields at the University. There is a pattern in these neighborhoods: disinvestment from the local municipality. The police through here are privately funded.

Ask yourself "am I a suburbanite who owns a car so I don't have to think about poor people?" Do you drive through the "bad parts of town" to remind yourselves that it is full of folks trying to survive, just like you? We have forsaken a large portion of the community because you personally already own a car?

There is a larger pool of folks who could move to the area or current residents who would benefit from improved public transit. This would be defined as transit that does not dump a ton of rubber into the air everywhere it goes. The area would benefit from a return of the streetcar.