david vartanoff Wrote:
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> Google and most other IT co's are not moving to
> Cleveland anytime soon. You might want to skim
> Richard Florida's Rise of the Creative Class for
> some reasons why the Bay Area and SF in
> particular.

I met Richard Florida once and am somewhat familiar with his "Creative Creative" class theory of urban development. It was interesting when he came out with it during the early 2000s and there is some merit and logic to it. However, I get the sense reading his on-line CityLab articles (hosted by The Atlantic), that he no longer fully espouses the "Creative Class" approach to urban revitalization due to growing economic inequality in many of America's most prosperous urban areas.

> I agree Cleveland's red Line was well done
> mechanically though like CTA's more recent Orange
> Line, and BART S of Lake Merritt, built along
> surplus RR ROW thus not convenient to either
> housing or office complexes.

From what I've seen of Cleveland, there are some opportunities for development and redevelopment along the Red Line.

Major development activity has occurred along Cleveland's Health Line (Bus Rapid Transit) and there are likely more opportunities for further development.

Given current
> ridership, the red line would not qualify for Fed
> money to build although if we called it light rail
> and built more stops it might garner more riders.
> Cleveland has been savaged by both consolidation
> of once major co's (Sohio into BP, goodbye
> headquarters) and the de-indusrialization of the
> US.
>
> None of that changes how unpleasant lake effect
> winter snow can be.

Even more unpleasant than lake effect winter snow, is a persistent drought and accompanying wildfires. Any large employer moving from the Great Lakes Region to a place with water resource challenges is exercising appallingly poor judgement.