Current and Past City Advocate Initiatives
Each City Advocate brings to the program their own set of skills
and interests, along with diverse ideas for how to make a positive
impact on Downtown Cleveland. Over the course of a two-year
commitment, City Advocates work collaboratively on a variety of
self-selected initiatives. Some projects are hands-on and
immediate, while others require attention to incremental steps with
the hope of a future win for Downtown. Some examples include:
- Working with the City to get a playground built for residents
and visitors with children to use.
- Working with property owners to place temporary art and/or
informational displays in empty storefronts.
- Researching legislation and various business plans for a
pedicab operation.
- Creating viral marketing videos and posting to YouTube.
- Recruiting businesses to open downtown (Flaming Ice Cube Cafe on Public Square is a direct result
of this program).
- Creating programs to market downtown living to new graduates
from the area's colleges and universities.
- Working with the City to improve dog amenities for downtown
residents.
- Researching the potential for a public/private partnership to
create free transportation on Saturday nights connecting four major
hubs of activity in and around Downtown.
- Creating content for Downtown Cleveland's Wikipedia page.
- Advocating for a mural project to beautify one of Downtown's
most visible vacant walls.
- Developing a series of happy hours designed to provide
information about downtown living to prospective new
residents.
- Researching the pop-up retail strategy and connecting potential
retailers to storefront opporturnities.
Downtown Cleveland Alliance helps City Advocates network with
appropriate contacts, organize meetings, develop work plans, and
gain an understanding of what it takes to pursue these types of
citizen-led endeavors.