Buckeye-Shaker Listening Project

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We have been listening to residents and others in the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhoods for the last two months as part of work with the city of Cleveland and the organization Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc.

Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc. is a nonprofit called a community development corporation. It is focused on revitalizing the Kinsman and Central neighborhoods. Because the neighborhoods of Buckeye-Shaker, which include the Woodland Hills, Buckeye, Larchmere, Ludlow and Shaker Square communities, no longer have a community development corporation of their own, Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc. (also called BBC) has been asked by the city to consider adding staff and working in Buckeye-Shaker, too. As part of that process, we talked with residents about what they would like to see.

We had conversations with 60 people from various areas of the neighborhood and also met with 18 neighborhood groups. Here is our report to the community with what we heard from residents.

We have made the following recommendations to the city and Burten, Bell, Carr Development as the process moves forward based on what we heard from residents:

1. Great Opportunity: An effective, fully-functioning community development corporation is an opportunity for the neighborhood;

2. Trust Building: Be intentional about building trust between Burten, Bell, Carr and neighborhood residents;

3. Shared Responsibility:  Develop ways that Burten, Bell, Carr and the community can work with one another and create together what they care about;

4. Move Towards Local Governance: Important that BBC and the community move towards building local governance and ownership. This takes time.

5. Equity and Inclusion: In resource allocation, planning, and decision making, there needs to be shared power across all neighborhoods. “Level the Playing Field”.

6. Unity Across Neighborhoods: Bridging relationships across neighborhoods; branding as one community, many neighborhoods.

If you’re interested in talking more about this, please join us at Buckeye-Shaker Network Night from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, November 20 at Fairhill Partners, 12200 Fairhill Road.