Improvements being planned for Gordon Square include a $2 million streetscape extension, redevelopment of Detroit Avenue as an arts corridor, and greater connectivity to the lake and surrounding neighborhoods. 

It's not just millennials who are looking to ditch the suburban doldrums and get in on the urban excitement. Baby boomers have become the fastest-growing group of people migrating to downtown.

With the click of an app, a car from Lyft or Uber can be at your door in minutes. Despite controversy, ridesharing services are making it easier to get around Cleveland without worrying about parking and driving.  

News stories about the once prosperous inner-ring suburb and home of Rockefeller have focused on the city’s financial struggles. As it continues to grapple with a reduced revenue stream and funding shortfalls, people and organizations are filling a void. 

You've likely driven by the Cultural Gardens many times, but have you stopped and experienced them? Here's the story of one person's discovery of what the Gardens mean, to him and possibly the rest of us too. 

This weekend, attend Positive Vibes at Negative Space Gallery, hear Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony at Severance Hall, learn about maple sugaring with the Metroparks and join a conversation about gender and identity at Waterloo Arts. 

This week, join Sustainable Cleveland at Old Stone Church for the kickoff of the Hope for the City series, see Booker T. Jones at the Music Box, view three versions of Blade Runner at the Cinematheque, and sample local brews.

The new George Gund Building at the Cleveland Institute of Art is the perfect complement to the Uptown district, and a place where students can collaborate and create.

Game-changing projects will soon launch in St. Clair Superior and North Collinwood: Hub 55, a new fresh market, cafe and incubator, and ActiVacant, which will draw new retailers to E. 185th.

"Not your average flea market, this pop-up event serves as a business incubator for small businesses and has helped spur development in the neighborhoods where it's held."

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"Chateau Hough, one of the first American vineyards set on reclaimed urban land, was started in 2010 with a $15,000 grant from the city and about $8,000 of Frazier’s own cash. Frazier’s main objectives were to beautify the lot across from his house (hopefully raising its value) and help out parolees, who often have trouble finding work. But he also wanted to see if Cleveland’s most notorious neighborhood could maybe make a pretty damn good wine."

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Downtown Minneapolis is booming with new residents, and growth is spilling into outlying neighborhoods. Now plans are in the works to ensure that existing residents and artists have a seat at the table. 

Built as an elite garden suburb, Shaker Heights has reinvented itself through attracting startups, nourishing small businesses and welcoming international families.

"The vibrant redevelopment of a corridor linking art, educational and healthcare institutions with surrounding neighborhoods, creating lively outdoor gathering spaces, retail shops and restaurants, student and market-rate housing, and public transit connections," stated the Bruner Foundation its website.

Read the full list of winners here.

As the first director of the newly-created Cuyahoga County Department of Sustainability, Mike Foley has visions of Cuyahoga County being a leader in green practices.

“I absolutely believe Cuyahoga can be the greenest county in the state,” Foley says. “We are lucky to have a lot of smart people, good public officials and a solid base of residents and businesses who understand that reducing our carbon footprint is the only sane alternative in the face of climate change.  But I also don’t believe this is a county-by-county competition. Cuyahoga should become as green as possible because it’s the right thing to do." 

Last week, Cuyahoga County executive Armond Budish launched the Cuyahoga County Department of Sustainability and announced Michael Foley as its first director and Shanelle Smith as its first deputy director.

According to a news release,the sustainability department will promote economic development activity that supports businesses that provide environmentally sustainable products and services; educate the public about environmentally sustainable practices; and collaborate with businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies to develop programs incorporating environmentally sustainable methods into accepted practices.

Foley says his priority is to make environmentally-friendly practices understandable and accessible to all businesses and residents in the county. While he is still getting his feet wet in the new position, Foley has a background in environmentalism and energy efficiency issues as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives.

“Climate change is important to the county, to the state, to the nation, to the world, and we need to address it,” Foley says. “I want to be a part of the minds to work on this stuff. I think that economic and social benefits come to those who adopt renewable and energy efficiency measures as soon as possible. Everybody, everywhere needs to be working towards the same greenhouse gas reduction goals in order to stave off real harm to the planet.”

Some of Foley’s early goals include investing in energy efficient technologies, solar power and collective buying power for groups. “You can’t do it one-off, you want to be a part of a group,” he explains. “We really want to make energy efficiency and green energy, such as solar power, more normal and not such a complicated concept.”

The Health-Tech Corridor was once a forgotten stretch of Euclid Avenue. Today the three-mile stretch between downtown and University Circle has become a hub of growing biotech and startup companies, with another round of development on the way.