Ecovillage Helps Cleveland Become an Eco-city

Placeholder image for Foundation for Intentional Community website.
Molly
  • May 21, 2008

The environmental news site, Grist, has a great article about how Cleveland is going green. The article highlights the Cleveland Ecovillage a “pedestrian-friendly neighborhood linked to mass transit”.

The project is the brainchild of five local nonprofits, the city, the regional transit authority, private developers, and neighborhood residents. They aim to bring residents back to the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, and to serve as an example to other cities of how to redevelop the inner city in a green fashion.

Near the newly renovated West 65th Street rapid transit station, Cuyahoga Community Land Trust is in the process of building five two- and three-bedroom homes, between 1,226 and 1,350 square feet each, called the Green Cottages. They’re designed to be LEED-certified and models of energy efficiency, with projected heating costs of just $36 a month thanks to energy-saving appliances and heavy insulation.

Because mixed-income housing is a key to sustainability, EcoVillage designers wanted to coax both lower- and upper-middle-class residents to return to the inner city. The cottages are surrounded by Craftsman-era homes, many of them carefully restored, painted the colors of Easter eggs and with wide front porches. Down the street, within walking distance to the rapid-transit station that links to downtown, are 20 1,600-square-foot EcoVillage townhouses constructed by GreenBuilt Homes, an eco-friendly Cleveland builder.

“We had a few folks who moved in from the suburbs, some who moved from within the local neighborhood, and some that came from other cities and other states,” said Metcalf. At this point, the people behind EcoVillage feel pretty safe claiming the project a success.

The article goes on to describe a number of other ecological projects in and around Cleveland.

Read the Eco-city Cleveland article at Grist

Comments

Featured Blogs

Keep the conversation going with these pieces

Marcus Gardner
Mon Dec 2007
  • Sustainability
Well travelling bloggers do seem to stop in communities often and its nice to get their first hand descriptions of the place. And if you thought biodiesel or bikes were eco, check out these folks who are walking from Vancouver to San Diego. They stopped at Rosewind Cohousing and Port Townsend EcoVi…
J McCune Porter
Thu Nov 2015
  • New to community
  • Life Transitions
Community Bookstore Special Best of Communities ― The Cream of Our Crop Children in Community by Kim Kanney, Community Bookstore Manager Best of Communities Volume VIII Children in Community A special selection of articles from Communities: Life in Cooperative Culture magazine $10 Dig…
Don Pitzer
Thu Dec 2011
  • New to community
On October 1, 2011, at the banquet concluding the Communal Studies Association’s annual meeting (held this year at the historic Shaker Village at South Union, Auburn, Kentucky),Communities magazine received a big, and welcome, surprise: the CSA’s Donald E. Pitzer Distinguished Service Award. Name…
Saul Of-Hearts
Thu Jun 2016
Since 2009, a small collection of sailboats, houseboats, rafts, and other watercraft have gathered each summer to create a floating city in California’s Sacramento River Delta. Called Ephemerisle, the week-long event was originally created by the Seasteading Institute as way to demonstrate how ocean…
J McCune Porter
Tue Jan 2015
  • New to community
Community Bookstore Special Best of Communities ― The Cream of Our Crop Seeking and Visiting a Community by June, Community Bookstore Manager Best of Communities Volume II Seeking and Visiting a Community Digital downloadable compilation PDF The Foundation for Intentional Community …
J McCune Porter
Sat Jun 2015
Aurora DeMarco Becomes FIC’s Development Director A New Dawn Aurora DeMarco Becomes FIC’s Development Director by Laird Schaub, FIC Executive Secretary Aurora DeMarco This February FIC tapped Aurora DeMarco (of Ganas Community in Staten Island NY) to become our new head of Develop…
Erin McMichael
Tue Dec 2023
Rodrigo Braga IT Director Technology as a bridge between people and places — I have a strong connection with water—especially the oceans—which led me to connect with sustainability and permaculture in my early twenties at the very beginning of my career as a…
Saul Of-Hearts
Mon Nov 2016
  • New to community
  • Economics & Law
Architect Fernando Romero has a plan for a binational city stretching over the U.S. and Mexican border. The project was on display last month at the London Design Biennale 2016. The designers call it “the first integrated masterplan for a binational city conducive to both sides of the border, employ…
Christopher Kindig
Sat Apr 2015
  • Sustainability
Family Grows 3 Tons of Food! The Dervaes family turned a “regular city home” into a thriving garden ecosystem that provides more than enough food for their family, and plenty to supply a local food stand. “Surrounded by urban sprawl and just a short distance from a freeway, the Urban H…
Molly
Thu May 2008
  • New to community
  • Sustainability
Katie McCamant & Chuck Durrett won a Silver Award for Best of of Senior Living from the National Association of Home Builders on Tuesday according to various articles and a press release. Nevada City architects, McCamant and Durrett’s design for Silver Sage Village, a senior cohousing project in…

Insights & Stories from the Communities Movement

Subscribe to our newsletter for fresh stories and community updates delivered to your inbox.

Join the Communiversity Community

Get unlimited access to courses, exclusive member events, and a supportive network of community builders

Unlimited Learning

Access all courses, books, and premium content

Community Network

Member-only workshops and community builders

Exclusive Events

Member-only workshops and gatherings

Update to a Public Profile

  • Log in
  • Go to your profile page
  • Toggle on the "Add my profile to the directory"
  • Save your profile

Information

Communities

A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

Organizations

An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

Plus Community Membership

  • Find people with Profile Match
  • Access to your community listing statistics
  • Create Discussion Groups
  • Access to our affiliate program
  • Member badge on your community profile
I am an official member of this community
Disclaimer
I affirm that my information is accurate and I am authorized to manage this listing
Foundation for Intentional Community FIC Member badge logo.

Free Plan

Free Membership
Free

Intentional Advertising

  • Subtotal

    {{ currencyFormat( pricing_summary.total_amount ) }}

Icon representing community connections and collaboration for intentional communities.

Plus Membership

  • Find communities with Profile Match
  • View detailed reviews about communities
  • Create free listings in Needs & Offers
  • Plus Member resources in CommUniversity
  • View communities detailed reviews
  • Plus Member badge on your profile