Governance for (climate) change in American “Legacy” cities: a case study of Cleveland

Legacy designates American cities thriving during the industrial era that declined and failed to rebound in post-industrial times. This chapter focuses on Cleveland, a Legacy city that illustrates well governance challenges in the world's older cities. Cleveland's region draws drinking water from Lake Erie, which residents also use for recreation, fishing, and transportation. The chapter begins with a discussion of governance in the Legacy context, followed by the description and analysis of Vibrant NEO 2040. This initiative sought to produce a vision for 2040 for Northeast Ohio and a path to this vision that entails departing rather drastically from current governance practices. The effort yielded a rich information base and communication channels among governing entities of 12 Northeast Ohio counties, but missed opportunities to produce an implementable strategy. The chapter concludes with insights from Cleveland's Legacy experience that could help other cities contend with economic and climate change challenges.