Population forum ponders Cleveland census results | Events

Two distinguished civic leaders will head up Greater Cleveland’s first public discussion addressing the outcome of last year’s U.S. Census. The free symposium, Rebuilding Greater Cleveland’s Population: Acting On the 2010 Census Results, will take place at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 11 at Broadway United Methodist Church, 5246 Broadway Ave., Cleveland.

Speakers will include:

Tom Bier, Ph.D., Senior Fellow of Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs. Bier is an expert on population movement and urban sprawl; he has conducted housing studies for 25 years and has investigated the influence of public policies on cities.

Joe Frolik, chief editorial writer for The Plain Dealer.  Frolik has reported on Cleveland redevelopment issues for several years, and was one of the key producers of The Quiet Crisis series in The Plain Dealer and Ideastream, broadcast during the early 2000s.

They and a number of other local planners and opinion leaders have been invited to share their insights during this wide ranging discussion of what went wrong with Cleveland's population numbers, and how to right it. Like NextBroadway’s recent Cuyahoga County candidate forums, this event will open at 6:30 p.m. A meet-and-greet with light refreshments will occur until the forum starts at 7 p.m.

Why is NE Ohio’s population shrinking will the U.S. is growing?  How will this trend impact our region’s economic competitiveness, cultural vitality, and environmental sustainability?  What’s the best strategy to move our numbers upward, and who’s responsible for executing that strategy successfully? These and other tough questions will be on the table for a distinguished panel of experts.   

According to economist Richard Florida, a place’s critical resource is its people. Despite our region’s shrinkage in the last decade, there is cause for hope. Geographer Joel Kotkin’s recent and widely reviewed book, The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050, opens with “a remarkable fact: in stark contrast to its more rapidly aging rivals in Europe and Asia, America’s population is expected to expand dramatically in coming decades. It should emerge by mid-century as the most affluent, culturally rich, and successful nation in human history.” 

Kotkin’s scenario begs the question of Clevelanders and establishes the subject of our forum:  in coming years, how will we persuade our share of all those new people to vote for Northeast Ohio with their feet?

The forum was scheduled at Broadway Methodist last autumn, before the congregation voted to close due to declining membership. The facility remains open for community outreach.  Its pastor, Rev. C. Yvonne Conner, will be part of the evening’s panel. 

NextBroadway is an ongoing civic conversation taking place in Broadway-Slavic Village, one of Cleveland’s oldest community’s. It is founded on the belief that the issues of the day should be addressed not just downtown but in the neighborhoods, where our region’s biggest challenges lie and where some of its most ambitious initiatives are being launched. 

For more information, contact NextBroadway at 216-469-4806.