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Missed Connection: Killing The 3C Corridor Rail Project Was Shortsighted
Ohio’s urban centers are economically vital, why aren’t they better connected?
The popular narrative of the Rust Belt is one of decline, one of yesterday’s thinking and hollowed-out cities. The idea of economic vitality is regularly dismissed out of hand, and the region must struggle to change the minds of people who are not paying close attention.
Challenges still exist throughout the Rust Belt, to be sure. But progress is steadily being made, as cities throughout the region embrace the emerging facets of the 21st century economy.
New research points to one such point of progress in the state of Ohio.
According to a forthcoming report authored by Richey Piiparinen, director of urban theory and analytics at Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, the gross domestic product of Cuyahoga County ranks 31st among 3,108 counties nationally.
At $87.7 billion, that’s larger than 13 entire states in America and several countries worldwide.
“It was totally a surprise,” Piiparinen said. “When you look at the numbers and see that Cuyahoga County is the top 1 percentile (nationally), it’s a myth that middle America has…
