The Balanced Circle Campaign

Friends of the University Neighborhood (FUN) - University Circle, Cleveland Ohio

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Mission: Bring an open planning process to University Circle

Circle Dialog

Parking the rub for Mandel Center proposal according to Cleveland BZA


The fate of "Harmony Park" is awaiting decision at City Hall: Photograph taken in late June 2006 with Tibetan prayer flags erected by a neighborhood gardener on left and a sign announcing the proposed Mandel Center building on the right. Case Western Reserve University has given a June 30th deadline for the gardeners to pull up what they want from the garden. On July 1 or there after Case will retake the "Harmony Park" property. The property will be open until the Cleveland Board of Zoning Appeals decides if Case's parking plans for the Mandel Center proposal are adequate.

June 26, 2006 - The members of the Cleveland Board of Zoning Appeals and Ward 9 Councilman Kevin Conwell balked at the provisions for parking that Case Western Reserve University included with their proposed Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations for the site of "Harmony Park" at the corner of Bellflower Rd. and Hessler Ct. The BZA voted to postpone a decision... (Find story and map here.)

Walking in the backyard of a Hessler Row House toward trees that would be removed if pervious proposals for the Euclid-Mayfield-Ford-Cornell interesection were built. To date, all proposals for this area have been made with little or no comment from people who live in University Circle. Photograph by John Richards

Opening Up University Circle
Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.
~ Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

While the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations is under construction on one side of the Hessler neighborhood, unresolved decades-old-issues lay in the path of any proposal for parts of the Case Western Reserve University named "Arts and Retail District" around the Euclid-Mayfield-Ford-Cornell intersection. Even the name of this district holds contention for some activists. What is missing from this district name? Read article here.

Learning from 'Harmony Park', what an urban open space can mean for people coming soon
The Hessler Community Garden at 'Harmony Park' will be soon be replaced by the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations of Case Western Reserve University.

After Manhattan Island lost its Penn Station people realized they lost someting significant. This brought much energy to the U.S. urban preservationist movement. Now, the Hessler neighborhood is loosing its 'Harmony Park' garden and one-weekend-a-year fairground (as used for the Hessler Street Fair). We hope that this loss will cause a spark for more thoughtful and open planning in University Circle. The Hessler Community Garden and the open space used as fairground had a special relationship with the Hessler neighborhood and University Circle. What can be learned from the way 'Harmony Park' serviced the neighborhood? What can be learned in the face of this ironic act, replacing a community garden with a center for nonprofit organizations?

Case's Master Plan:
What is its relation to the community?
While there is some good urban design in Case Western Reserve University's 2005 Master Plan, as presented in the University's Spring/Summer 2006 Community Matters it's a discombobulated urban district. Coming in July 2006!

Steven Litt, PD architecture critic, in two articles calls for an open University Circle planning process

Today, the district is the only one of 16 community development areas in the city without an extensive public design review system.
Find links to these two of Mr. Litt's articles here.

The Open Planning Parlor

Readings for an open planning process

History of Hessler and University Circle including some land use disputes

History of a "near-miss" open planning process in the Hessler neighborhood in 1992

Resources that are available to help make an open planning process possible in University Circle

Green City Blue Lake University Circle section

Circle Scenes

2006 Hessler Street Fair fashion and flirting on the street by Jay Levan, find show here.

2005 Hessler Street Fair Photo Contest Winners find here. Photo by Zdenko Liptak of Poland and Parma OH.

2004 Hessler Street Fair 'Harmony Park' Drum Circle Slide Show by Jay Levan, find show here.

   
   
 

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The photographs in the top bannor were taken at the 2004 and 2005 Hessler Street Fairs and were provided by the
Hessler Street Fair Committee of the Hessler Neighborhood Association.
Photographers:
Far Left: Silvana Manocchio | 2nd from Left: John Richards | Center Left: John Harmon
Center Right: Greg Uterhark | 2nd from Right: John Harmon | Far Right: Pat Winfield

The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the
Hessler Neighborhood Association or any other organization.

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This page last updated on 2006/09/22 5:40 p.m. EDST