Ohio City
A group of teenage artists have cleaned up graffiti, added a fresh coat of paint and installed a large, colorful mural entitled "Waterworks" on a long vacant gas station at West 45th and Detroit Avenue in Ohio City. The artwork, which was created by the nonprofit Building Bridges Arts Collaborative, aims to raise awareness of water pollution issues in Cleveland and create job opportunities for local youth.
"We wanted to take something that is spoiled, raise it onto the wall and transform it into something beautiful," says Katherine Chilcote, Executive Director of Building Bridges, who created the mural based on photographs of water in everyday life such as car windshields, sewer grates and oily puddles in parking lots. "We focused on this site because it needed beautification."
The former BP gas station was tagged with graffiti, littered with trash and poorly maintained when it was selected as the site for the Waterworks mural. Chilcote, local youth and volunteers from St. Paul's Community Church removed 10 bags of trash and painted over the graffiti. Provenzale Construction at 4529 Detroit donated labor to install the mural on their building and the former BP.
The mural project started in 2010, when Chilcote began working with the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization and the Cleveland Police Department to map locations where crime, graffiti and abandoned buildings were most prevalent. The corner of Detroit and West 45th naturally stood out.
"The building was constantly being tagged," says Chilcote. "There's also a bus stop there, so we knew it was a high-traffic area that needed to be improved."
Waterworks was inspired by 19th-century maps of local watersheds. After researching the area's buried creek beds, Chilcote dreamed of ways to artistically 'free' these waterways. Waterworks uses images of water runoff shaped by its urban environment to explore the beauty and degradation of water in Cleveland.
Although not quite as flashy as the 300-foot cranes that now hover over downtown, thanks to the Flats East Bank and Med Mart projects, Chilcote says her program provides paid internships and job training for youth.
"It's really another form of economic development," she says. "The kids that worked on this mural are saying, 'We're taking this corner back.' Through the process, they learn to see their community in a new way."
Source: Katherine Chilcote
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Disclosure: Katherine Chilcote is the writer's sister.
"We wanted to take something that is spoiled, raise it onto the wall and transform it into something beautiful," says Katherine Chilcote, Executive Director of Building Bridges, who created the mural based on photographs of water in everyday life such as car windshields, sewer grates and oily puddles in parking lots. "We focused on this site because it needed beautification."
The former BP gas station was tagged with graffiti, littered with trash and poorly maintained when it was selected as the site for the Waterworks mural. Chilcote, local youth and volunteers from St. Paul's Community Church removed 10 bags of trash and painted over the graffiti. Provenzale Construction at 4529 Detroit donated labor to install the mural on their building and the former BP.
The mural project started in 2010, when Chilcote began working with the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization and the Cleveland Police Department to map locations where crime, graffiti and abandoned buildings were most prevalent. The corner of Detroit and West 45th naturally stood out.
"The building was constantly being tagged," says Chilcote. "There's also a bus stop there, so we knew it was a high-traffic area that needed to be improved."
Waterworks was inspired by 19th-century maps of local watersheds. After researching the area's buried creek beds, Chilcote dreamed of ways to artistically 'free' these waterways. Waterworks uses images of water runoff shaped by its urban environment to explore the beauty and degradation of water in Cleveland.
Although not quite as flashy as the 300-foot cranes that now hover over downtown, thanks to the Flats East Bank and Med Mart projects, Chilcote says her program provides paid internships and job training for youth.
"It's really another form of economic development," she says. "The kids that worked on this mural are saying, 'We're taking this corner back.' Through the process, they learn to see their community in a new way."
Source: Katherine Chilcote
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Disclosure: Katherine Chilcote is the writer's sister.
For just shy of three years, Crop Bistro & Bar attracted diners to its Warehouse District home, where chef Steve Schimoler wowed them with creative American gems. That all ended last spring when Schimoler decided to transplant his Crop to Ohio City. How could he not, he said, after first laying eyes upon the old bank space that could -- and would -- be his restaurant's new home. After months of construction -- all followed by Fresh Water shooter Bob Perkoski -- Crop Bistro opens its doors tonight and begins the next chapter of its delicious existence.
In Cleveland, some wide-eyed literary activists are launching a new form of creative writing workshops. Not only will these programs measurably improve the writing and verbal skills of the students who enroll, they are inspiring youth to discover worlds beyond their own. In turn, these programs very well might be providing the keys to future success.
Despite dire news to the contrary, the indie bookstore is not dead -- especially in Cleveland, one of the most literate cities in the nation. But that doesn't mean booksellers can coast on sales of Woolf, Pynchon and Roth. More than simply literary vending machines, the best indie bookstores have learned to adapt by offering poetry readings, book signings, live music, and even glasses of Australian chardonnay.
museum of art and bidwell collaboration for cross-town gallery makes cross-country news
A recent article published in the Houston Chronicle covers the newly announced collaboration between Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell, private art collectors, and the Cleveland Museum of Art to open a gallery on the near-west side.
To be housed in an attractive brick building that long housed a transformer station, the 3,500-square-foot gallery is expected to open in late 2012.
"The boxy brick station, located in a blue-collar neighborhood across the Cuyahoga River from downtown Cleveland, was built in 1924 to provide power for streetcars. It was used as a transformer station until 1949 and later housed an art foundry.
The museum said it expects to present at least two shows per year at the location."
David Franklin, the museum's director, is quoted as saying, "The project would enhance CMA's reputation for contemporary art and community involvement "in creative, unexpected ways."
Read the rest here.
To be housed in an attractive brick building that long housed a transformer station, the 3,500-square-foot gallery is expected to open in late 2012.
"The boxy brick station, located in a blue-collar neighborhood across the Cuyahoga River from downtown Cleveland, was built in 1924 to provide power for streetcars. It was used as a transformer station until 1949 and later housed an art foundry.
The museum said it expects to present at least two shows per year at the location."
David Franklin, the museum's director, is quoted as saying, "The project would enhance CMA's reputation for contemporary art and community involvement "in creative, unexpected ways."
Read the rest here.
A new bakery on W. 25th Street is out to prove that dairy-free desserts can be just as addictive as the most decadent slice of chocolate cake -- while also cutting back on the calories, health risks, and guilt associated with many of our favorite vices.
Just ask Margaret Bilyeau, owner of the newly opened Maggie's Vegan Bakery, who boasts of her vegan "chocolate" cupcakes with "cream cheese" icing: "You need to come try them -- they're wonderful."
That shouldn't be too hard; she offers free samples to customers who stop in her store, located at 1830 W. 25th Street in Ohio City's ever-expanding Market District.
Bilyeau first started baking professionally in 1994. She sold her goods at farmers markets and the now-closed Food Co-op on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights. Advised by a Co-op employee that she should start baking vegan because few others were serving that market, Bilyeau started doing just that.
But first she had to learn what being vegan actually means. "I said to him, 'What's that? How do you do it?'" she says. "He told me, 'You have to figure it out.' At the time, not very many people were doing it. It's a much bigger market now."
Although Bilyeau prepares her vegan baked goods strictly sans dairy, her customers aren't limited to hardcore vegans or vegetarians. Increasingly, they are also heart patients or elderly people that can't eat dairy for health reasons, or people who aren't consuming dairy products because of religious reasons.
Bilyeau also makes gluten-free baked goods to serve another growing market -- people with Celiac Disease who are allergic to wheat, rye and barley. "It's hard to find fresh gluten-free bread," she says. "It's flying off of the shelves."
Her ultimate goal is to ramp up her distribution business and ensure that more restaurants in Cleveland carry vegan and gluten-free desserts and other baked goods.
Bilyeau chose Ohio City because she shops at the West Side Market and saw new businesses opening up in the area.
"We're right between the new Mexican restaurant, Orale, and Johnnyville Slugger," she says. "I love being here."
Source: Margaret Bilyeau
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Just ask Margaret Bilyeau, owner of the newly opened Maggie's Vegan Bakery, who boasts of her vegan "chocolate" cupcakes with "cream cheese" icing: "You need to come try them -- they're wonderful."
That shouldn't be too hard; she offers free samples to customers who stop in her store, located at 1830 W. 25th Street in Ohio City's ever-expanding Market District.
Bilyeau first started baking professionally in 1994. She sold her goods at farmers markets and the now-closed Food Co-op on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights. Advised by a Co-op employee that she should start baking vegan because few others were serving that market, Bilyeau started doing just that.
But first she had to learn what being vegan actually means. "I said to him, 'What's that? How do you do it?'" she says. "He told me, 'You have to figure it out.' At the time, not very many people were doing it. It's a much bigger market now."
Although Bilyeau prepares her vegan baked goods strictly sans dairy, her customers aren't limited to hardcore vegans or vegetarians. Increasingly, they are also heart patients or elderly people that can't eat dairy for health reasons, or people who aren't consuming dairy products because of religious reasons.
Bilyeau also makes gluten-free baked goods to serve another growing market -- people with Celiac Disease who are allergic to wheat, rye and barley. "It's hard to find fresh gluten-free bread," she says. "It's flying off of the shelves."
Her ultimate goal is to ramp up her distribution business and ensure that more restaurants in Cleveland carry vegan and gluten-free desserts and other baked goods.
Bilyeau chose Ohio City because she shops at the West Side Market and saw new businesses opening up in the area.
"We're right between the new Mexican restaurant, Orale, and Johnnyville Slugger," she says. "I love being here."
Source: Margaret Bilyeau
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Greg Murray is capturing the true essence of Cleveland through the people who live and work here. As an HR manager and amateur photographer, Murray has set out to capture 100 of Cleveland’s most interesting characters on film for a portrait album he began on August 11.
“I love Cleveland and thought it would be a fun project to undertake,” says Murray. “Our people make our city what it is, so it was an easy choice to focus the project around the people of this city and Northeast Ohio.”
Born and raised in Cleveland, Murray spent seven years in Chicago and Atlanta before returning in 2007. He now has a new appreciation for the city.
“I have a huge amount of passion for our city. I like to support it and show it off with my photography,” he says. “This project is just one way of doing that. We’re nothing without the people that make this city what it is.”
Murray has about 15 portraits in his collection so far, and hopes to add two or three new images each week. His favorite so far is of Samad Samad, a street performer in Ohio City
If given the opportunity to photograph anyone -- living or dead -- Murray goes the political route with Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Dennis Kucinich. “She loved Cleveland and the people she represented," he says of Tubbs Jones. "She was truly an amazing woman. I’d really like to capture Dennis Kucinich. He’s such an interesting person.”
But mostly, Murray wants to shoot average Clevelanders who make the city special. “In the end, I'm not only searching for notable Clevelanders,” he says. “I'm looking for everyday people that call the area their home, are passionate about our city, have a story, or whose work is to continue to make Cleveland a great place."
Source: Greg Murray
Writer: Karin Connelly
“I love Cleveland and thought it would be a fun project to undertake,” says Murray. “Our people make our city what it is, so it was an easy choice to focus the project around the people of this city and Northeast Ohio.”
Born and raised in Cleveland, Murray spent seven years in Chicago and Atlanta before returning in 2007. He now has a new appreciation for the city.
“I have a huge amount of passion for our city. I like to support it and show it off with my photography,” he says. “This project is just one way of doing that. We’re nothing without the people that make this city what it is.”
Murray has about 15 portraits in his collection so far, and hopes to add two or three new images each week. His favorite so far is of Samad Samad, a street performer in Ohio City
If given the opportunity to photograph anyone -- living or dead -- Murray goes the political route with Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Dennis Kucinich. “She loved Cleveland and the people she represented," he says of Tubbs Jones. "She was truly an amazing woman. I’d really like to capture Dennis Kucinich. He’s such an interesting person.”
But mostly, Murray wants to shoot average Clevelanders who make the city special. “In the end, I'm not only searching for notable Clevelanders,” he says. “I'm looking for everyday people that call the area their home, are passionate about our city, have a story, or whose work is to continue to make Cleveland a great place."
Source: Greg Murray
Writer: Karin Connelly
Imagine if we'd all had a crash course in Cleveland -- a tutorial, administered while we were still young and impressionable, on all the great things this city has to offer. Each year, hundreds of high-school and college students are getting just such a lesson. Thanks to internships offered by dozens of local firms and non-profits, students from within and without our region's borders are learning about Cleveland and its potential as a place to live, work and play.
Campbell's Popcorn and Sweets has opened a new factory store in Ohio City's Market District, at which customers can watch the production of its signature products as well as sample tasty, unusual flavors such as garlic parmesan, dill pickle and barbeque.
Owner Jeff Campbell says he decided to expand in Ohio City because of the loyal customers he's generated at his West Side Market stand, which has seen 25 percent annual growth since he opened it in 2004.
"Ohio City is already Cleveland's foodie area," says Campbell. "I believe it will become nationally known as a foodie neighborhood."
Before the store opened at the beginning of August, Campbell and his crew made all of their popcorn and sweets in two tiny stands at the West Side Market. "We probably should have been here a year ago," he says with a laugh.
The new store is airy and spacious by comparison. It is playfully decorated with bright orange walls and a creamy brown ceiling that stir up cravings for cheese popcorn and chocolate-covered pretzels as soon as one walks in the door. Large storefront windows allow passersby to watch popcorn pop and other treats being made before being lured inside for a taste. Next month, a large sign with Campbell's new logo will be installed on the exterior of the building.
Campbell says he's encouraged by the new businesses that are opening on West 25th Street. "We're planning on adding sidewalk dining, and the owners are close to signing a deal with a hostel that would occupy the floors above us," he says. "Ohio City's growth will come down West 25th Street."
This is in addition to the recent news that Mitchell's Ice Cream will take over the former Moda space down the street.
Campbell's Popcorn and Sweets is located on West 25th St. south of Lorain, near Chatham Ave.
Source: Jeff Campbell
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Owner Jeff Campbell says he decided to expand in Ohio City because of the loyal customers he's generated at his West Side Market stand, which has seen 25 percent annual growth since he opened it in 2004.
"Ohio City is already Cleveland's foodie area," says Campbell. "I believe it will become nationally known as a foodie neighborhood."
Before the store opened at the beginning of August, Campbell and his crew made all of their popcorn and sweets in two tiny stands at the West Side Market. "We probably should have been here a year ago," he says with a laugh.
The new store is airy and spacious by comparison. It is playfully decorated with bright orange walls and a creamy brown ceiling that stir up cravings for cheese popcorn and chocolate-covered pretzels as soon as one walks in the door. Large storefront windows allow passersby to watch popcorn pop and other treats being made before being lured inside for a taste. Next month, a large sign with Campbell's new logo will be installed on the exterior of the building.
Campbell says he's encouraged by the new businesses that are opening on West 25th Street. "We're planning on adding sidewalk dining, and the owners are close to signing a deal with a hostel that would occupy the floors above us," he says. "Ohio City's growth will come down West 25th Street."
This is in addition to the recent news that Mitchell's Ice Cream will take over the former Moda space down the street.
Campbell's Popcorn and Sweets is located on West 25th St. south of Lorain, near Chatham Ave.
Source: Jeff Campbell
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"We're taking boarded-up schools in Cleveland's neighborhoods and bringing them back to life," says Alan Rosskamm, CEO of Breakthrough Schools. "This is about keeping families in the city." With a lofty goal of opening 20 new charter schools by 2020, Breakthrough is on a mission to provide quality education to Cleveland students regardless of zip code. Opponents, on the other hand, argue that charters create a two-tiered education system that siphons off the best students.
neighborhood crawl intended to highlight cle public transport system
"Partying is hardly the main purpose," promises RTA Bar Crawl organizer Joe Baur.
To be held Saturday, August 27, the Crawl will utilize public transportation to ferry attendees from urban location to urban location, with stops Ohio City, University Circle, Little Italy, Larchmere/Shaker Square and E.4th Street. The day-long event steps off at 1 p.m. and winds down in Ohio City at 8 p.m.
"The purpose of the RTA Bar Crawl is to show Clevelanders and our suburbanite friends that our public transit system is a safe mode of transportation to get around the city," Baur explains. "It's also my hope that people will come away from the crawl envisioning life living in Cleveland proper. Walking, riding a bike or taking public transit to work, being part of the ongoing revitalization and knowing your fellow Clevelanders instead of going from boxed house to box car to office, back home to fall asleep and repeat."
Baur says the inspiration for the event came to him after listening to the "Mike Trivisonno Show," when the host said he would never step foot on the RTA, adding that downtown is filled with people who can't afford to live in the suburbs.
"Meanwhile, I'm laughing to myself," he adds, "because I fought like hell to get out of the suburbs!"
The event will also benefit the charity We Run This City.
For more info, click here.
To be held Saturday, August 27, the Crawl will utilize public transportation to ferry attendees from urban location to urban location, with stops Ohio City, University Circle, Little Italy, Larchmere/Shaker Square and E.4th Street. The day-long event steps off at 1 p.m. and winds down in Ohio City at 8 p.m.
"The purpose of the RTA Bar Crawl is to show Clevelanders and our suburbanite friends that our public transit system is a safe mode of transportation to get around the city," Baur explains. "It's also my hope that people will come away from the crawl envisioning life living in Cleveland proper. Walking, riding a bike or taking public transit to work, being part of the ongoing revitalization and knowing your fellow Clevelanders instead of going from boxed house to box car to office, back home to fall asleep and repeat."
Baur says the inspiration for the event came to him after listening to the "Mike Trivisonno Show," when the host said he would never step foot on the RTA, adding that downtown is filled with people who can't afford to live in the suburbs.
"Meanwhile, I'm laughing to myself," he adds, "because I fought like hell to get out of the suburbs!"
The event will also benefit the charity We Run This City.
For more info, click here.
As the economic malaise enters its umpteenth year, many creative folks are using it as an opportunity to grab a little slice of the artisan marketplace. With or without day jobs, a new breed of craftspeople are cultivating home-grown companies by doing what they love. Some are eager to branch out, while others are just tickled to have a creative outlet.
As one of Fox 8's newest talents, Reid is still learning the ropes not only as they apply to work but also life in Cleveland. She and her husband moved to town from Pittsburgh just over four months ago, and they're still feeling their way around. Settling downtown, Reid says they are having a blast discovering their new surroundings -- especially the restaurants. (But she's still a Steelers fan.)
When a tree falls in the city of Cleveland, it gets trucked off to a facility that reduces it to mulch, which is then dyed an offensive shade of red or black and ultimately laid to rest on somebody's prized flower bed. It is a crime not only upon nature, but to Dean Heidelberg, owner of Metro Hardwoods. As the operator of one of this country's only urban sawmills, Heidelberg is on a mission to rescue as many trees as possible.
With the recent opening of the Urban Orchid, a new flower and gift shop located at 2704 Bridge Avenue, an empty storefront has been filled and a new business has been added to Ohio City's artisan economy.
Owner Brandon Sitler describes the Urban Orchid as "a small gift boutique and full-service flower shop that offers custom arrangements and delivers flowers throughout Cuyahoga County -- and anywhere in the world, really." The cozy, 400-square-foot space boasts an open floor plan that allows customers to watch the floral designer at work.
Sitler worked at Flowerville in University Heights for eight years before striking out on his own. His new store offers handmade gift items such as greeting cards adorned with Ohio City scenes by artist David Horneck, head bands by designer Lindsey Bower of Black Bow Designs, and bags made from recycled materials.
The entrepreneur was inspired to open the store after he won an international design competition from a wholesale organization and garnered grant funding from Ohio City Inc. and Charter One Bank last year. The confidence boost and cold, hard cash allowed him to make the proverbial leap from idea to actuality.
"Having that support helped me to get into this space, fix it up and make my dream a reality," says Sitler, an Ohio City resident who decided the time was right to launch a flower shop because there are no others on the near-west side.
Sitler hopes to continue creating custom arrangements for weddings and other events while also serving walk-in customers at his shop, which is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Urban Orchid also specializes in green and sustainable gifts. Sitler buys work from local artists that is handmade or made from recycled materials. "Flowers make you think of what you're leaving behind, your footprint," he says. "So the idea of my flower shop was to keep it green and give back."
Source: Brandon Sitler
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Owner Brandon Sitler describes the Urban Orchid as "a small gift boutique and full-service flower shop that offers custom arrangements and delivers flowers throughout Cuyahoga County -- and anywhere in the world, really." The cozy, 400-square-foot space boasts an open floor plan that allows customers to watch the floral designer at work.
Sitler worked at Flowerville in University Heights for eight years before striking out on his own. His new store offers handmade gift items such as greeting cards adorned with Ohio City scenes by artist David Horneck, head bands by designer Lindsey Bower of Black Bow Designs, and bags made from recycled materials.
The entrepreneur was inspired to open the store after he won an international design competition from a wholesale organization and garnered grant funding from Ohio City Inc. and Charter One Bank last year. The confidence boost and cold, hard cash allowed him to make the proverbial leap from idea to actuality.
"Having that support helped me to get into this space, fix it up and make my dream a reality," says Sitler, an Ohio City resident who decided the time was right to launch a flower shop because there are no others on the near-west side.
Sitler hopes to continue creating custom arrangements for weddings and other events while also serving walk-in customers at his shop, which is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Urban Orchid also specializes in green and sustainable gifts. Sitler buys work from local artists that is handmade or made from recycled materials. "Flowers make you think of what you're leaving behind, your footprint," he says. "So the idea of my flower shop was to keep it green and give back."
Source: Brandon Sitler
Writer: Lee Chilcote
food network mag crowns bar cento's sunnyside pizza best in ohio
When the editors of Food Network Magazine set out to uncover this country's finest pizzas, they solicited the opinion of Fresh Water editor (and Scene food writer) Douglas Trattner. Having recently devoured his 20th Sunnyside pizza from Bar Cento -- with runny yolk still dripping down his chin -- his response was immediate and definite.
In the September issue, which hits newsstands August 9, the magazine unfurls a map of "50 States, 50 Pizzas," in which they crown the best pizza of every state of the nation. The editors, like Trattner, were won over by Bar Cento's Sunnyside, which features salty pancetta and soft-cooked eggs with provolone and lots of black pepper.
For the full slice of the story, click here.
In the September issue, which hits newsstands August 9, the magazine unfurls a map of "50 States, 50 Pizzas," in which they crown the best pizza of every state of the nation. The editors, like Trattner, were won over by Bar Cento's Sunnyside, which features salty pancetta and soft-cooked eggs with provolone and lots of black pepper.
For the full slice of the story, click here.
cimperman is 'darling' of food policy summit in portland
Last May, Councilman Joe Cimperman participated in the annual Community Food Security Coalition, a food policy conference in Portland, Oregon. Turns out, he killed.
"The surprise darling of the Community Food Security Coalition conference last May was a little-known city councilman from Cleveland," Hannah Wallace writes for Faster Times. "He spoke fervently about his city, a city of flourishing community gardens, backyard bee hives and chicken coops, a city where all farmers markets accept food stamps, where schools get discounts for sourcing local food, and where both trans-fats and smoking on playgrounds are banned. His name? Joe Cimperman."
In this lengthy Q and A, Cimperman discusses some of the efforts that are helping Cleveland become a "food justice utopia," and a model for other cities to emulate.
Cimperman explains how in 2007, Cleveland became the first city to pass an urban farm zoning law, leading to an explosion of community gardens. He says that by 2020, the goal is to have a community garden within five blocks of every Cleveland resident.
He also mentions progressive city programs like urban chickens and bees, farmers markets accepting food stamps, and shoring up food deserts with fresh produce.
"Community gardens just make us a nicer city," Cimperman says in the article. "They make us share more, pay more attention to each others' kids, understand each others' cultures more. There are just so many ancillary benefits to community gardens -- we can't imagine."
Digest the rest here.
"The surprise darling of the Community Food Security Coalition conference last May was a little-known city councilman from Cleveland," Hannah Wallace writes for Faster Times. "He spoke fervently about his city, a city of flourishing community gardens, backyard bee hives and chicken coops, a city where all farmers markets accept food stamps, where schools get discounts for sourcing local food, and where both trans-fats and smoking on playgrounds are banned. His name? Joe Cimperman."
In this lengthy Q and A, Cimperman discusses some of the efforts that are helping Cleveland become a "food justice utopia," and a model for other cities to emulate.
Cimperman explains how in 2007, Cleveland became the first city to pass an urban farm zoning law, leading to an explosion of community gardens. He says that by 2020, the goal is to have a community garden within five blocks of every Cleveland resident.
He also mentions progressive city programs like urban chickens and bees, farmers markets accepting food stamps, and shoring up food deserts with fresh produce.
"Community gardens just make us a nicer city," Cimperman says in the article. "They make us share more, pay more attention to each others' kids, understand each others' cultures more. There are just so many ancillary benefits to community gardens -- we can't imagine."
Digest the rest here.
In American culture, automobiles have long symbolized personal freedom. But present-day bike advocates say the exact opposite is true: Rather than create a sense of giddy liberty, cars foster feelings of isolation and enclosure. For that reason and more -- environmental concerns, high gas prices, the desire for a healthier lifestyle -- more people are opting to go "car-light" and "car-free."