April 28-29, the Equitable Cities team had the pleasure of visiting Cleveland, Tennessee as part of our work with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Community Connectors Program.
We’ve worked with the Cleveland Community Connectors team for two years and continue to be impressed by the groundbreaking collaboration between a White-led community development corporation and a Black-led neighborhood association. This multiracial coalition is the first of it’s kind in Cleveland’s history, and their approach reflects this spirit of innovation. By leading community-driven planning, hosting neighborhood events, and bringing residents and city leaders together to reimagine land use and connectivity, this team seeks to reconnect the historically black neighborhoods of College Hill and Old Blythefield to the rest of the city.
Residents and businesses in these neighborhoods were displaced and cut off from downtown Cleveland during urban renewal. Today, a busy railroad with recurring underpass flooding and blocked crossings continues to isolate this area of the city. The work to reconnect and revitalize these communities is both urgent and crucial for the wellbeing of Cleveland as a whole.
During our visit, Equitable Cities hosted a workshop on grant writing strategies, with support from Mayor Alyia Gaskins, to help sustain and build on this momentum. We also met with the Downtown Cleveland Business Association and the City Manager to emphasize the importance of this community-led work in shaping a more inclusive future for Cleveland.
We’re honored to support this coalition as they continue to push for safer streets, more mobility and connectivity options, and improved quality of life in the College Hill and Old Blythefield neighborhoods.
College Hill High School circa 1950
The College Hill Rec Center has no sidewalks or crosswalks connecting it to the ball field or community garden, all of which are on the same block (pictured here).
This is one of several dangerous, high injury roads in East Cleveland. Last month a young child was struck by a truck at this location (the child survived).