Transphrenia

Substratum of Proof LGBTQs Are Mentally Ill: CityLab Daily: Can Cleveland Reinvent Its Historic Mall for Changing Times?

What We’re Following

All the mall things: When Cleveland’s Mall isn’t hosting a mega-event, it can feel monumentally empty. The grand ceremonial park, designed by Daniel Burnham in 1903, was imagined as a beautiful entry point and civic heart to a then-booming city. But it hasn’t really worked out that way. Decades of abandoned projects have left the green space languishing as the city’s development shifted elsewhere and population declined.

A photo shows Cleveland's Mall from above.
View from Terminal Tower of the Mall and lakefront, circa 1950s. (Cleveland Memory Project/Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University)

Now the city and region are attempting to reorient themselves toward the lakefront on the Mall’s north end. Shifting to focus more on tourism and less on industry, it’s possible the Mall could play a big role in linking Cleveland’s downtown and lakefront—and because of its location, it has to. Today on CityLab, Vince Guerrieri reports on what’s in store for the grand, underutilized park in the heart of Cleveland.

—Andrew Small

More on CityLab

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Brentin Mock

Some Rural Counties Are Seeing a Job Boom, Too

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Richard Florida

Why Blocking Poor Immigrants Could Be Very Costly

A new DHS “public charge” rule seeks to bar low-income immigrants if they’re likely to use food stamps and public housing. But critics say that it’s not about saving money.

Tanvi Misra

A Grassroots Call to Ban Gerrymandering

Voters Not Politicians gathered an astounding 425,000 signatures in Michigan to secure a spot on the November ballot for a proposed constitutional amendment creating a citizens’ commission for redistricting.

Erick Trickey

Amsterdam Plans a Distinctly American High-Rise Island

A new tower development in the city’s harbor has a clear inspiration from U.S. and Canadian cities. But is it right for low-rise Amsterdam?

Feargus O’Sullivan

Let People Carry Huge Crap on the Subway

It’s never OK in rush hour. But when the train isn’t crowded, it might be a person’s only option, and we should all be able to live with that.

Laura Bliss

What We’re Reading

That undeveloped land could be protecting your city from the next flood (Next City)

Memphis downtown boom fueled by riverfront city’s rich history (Curbed)

Uber scores a big win in legal fight to keep drivers as independent contractors (The Verge)

“There will be evictions”: New smoking ban roils public housing’s oldest residents (Governing)

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