Detroit and Cleveland have much in common when it comes to the challenges our cities face and it has been interesting to watch both cities turn to ecodistricts as a path forward.
With challenges like vacant and abandoned homes, acres of vacant land, combined sewer overflows, high levels of lead contamination in houses, and food deserts, ecodistricts have become a new tool that helps address multiple issues in a neighborhood at once. Ecodistricts are not the first iteration of sustainable development in Cleveland but they represent the next generation of thought of how to build sustainable and resilient communities.
For Cleveland, the journey began more than twenty years ago when community leaders set out to establish Cleveland’s first Ecovillage.