Is Cleveland the Next 18-Hour City?

Cleveland is a rising 18-hour city, and we have the potential to become one of the most vibrant and livable cities in the Midwest. To achieve this, we have to invest in education & jobs and overhaul our infrastructure to meet the needs of a new generation of city dwellers and employers.

Those planning efforts are underway and those of us in real estate are wise to support these efforts. In an article from Fast Company, both Cleveland’s Mayor Bibb and Bedrock’s CEO Kofi Bonner highlighted the importance of building “15 minute neighborhoods” to easily navigate between work, home, activities and necessities. These are the building blocks of 18-hour cities, which make for productive office, retail, entertainment, and multi-family real estate. To make this happen, we must also build safe and abundant pedestrian and bike infrastructure.

Real estate developers, owners, and occupiers know this too. Our colleague Conor Coakley is a longtime advocate for connecting Cleveland’s unique trail infrastructure, including the Towpath Trail, our Metroparks trails. With the help of many others, that advocacy is paying off, with recently announced funding to introduce the statewide Buckeye Trail to wind through Downtown Cleveland.

With Cleveland’s ongoing revitalization, we can all help shape a more vibrant and livable city. Let’s continue to invest and support initiatives that create 15-minute neighborhoods and access to the trails that make Cleveland so special. Together, we can make Cleveland the 18-hour city we all know it can be.