Coupling Benefits: Strategies for Vacant Land Reuse along Cleveland\u27s Opportunity Corridor

This paper discusses large scale planning efforts pertaining to vacant land reuse, economic development, and public participation along the Opportunity Corridor project in Cleveland, Ohio. The Corridor is a $331 million roadway project that will span 3.3 miles through some of Cleveland’s most blighted neighborhoods. Issues of distributional justice including underperforming public education, poor public health indicators, high rates of vacancy, and aging infrastructure contribute to neighborhood blight throughout the area. Stormwater management, access to multi-modal transportation, brownfield mitigation, and economic development are also prevalent issues throughout the project area. Advocacy work by the Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) seeks to integrate planning efforts between multiple jurisdictions, civic actors, and community desires surrounding the project. This paper describes the community planning process in Cleveland surrounding the Corridor project, emphasizing the CUDC’s role in advocacy for an integrated planning approach to meet community needs