Op-Ed: The Cleveland Clinic Chooses Sprawl over Healthy Communities

A scathing critique of the land use, development, and transportation decisions of the Cleveland Clinic calls out the medical center for neglecting its role in the prioritizing healthy communities.

1 minute read

February 12, 2015, 8:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"Disappointing but not entirely surprising news from the Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland’s largest employer recently announced that it is closing Lakewood Hospital, in the cozy inner ring suburb, as it expands operations in sprawling Avon," according to a post by Angie Schmitt for Rustwire.

"This seems to be fitting with the nonprofit’s model of building a new hospital at every interchange opened in the sprawling hinterlands while winding down its hospital locations in the more populous areas of the region."

Especially telling to Schmitt is the decision to build a $36 million parking garage. She notes that there are several options that the hospital could have chosen more in line with its mission of providing quality healthcare, including rewards for employees who carpool and providing incentives for employees to live near their work. About these ides and the others Schmitt offers, she notes hurts the hospital's employees and the surrounding community.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015 in RustWire

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

Mamdani behind a microphone, in front of a snowbank

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge

A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.

November 6 - CNN

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6 - Grist

People board a bus in Seattle.

Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion

Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.

November 6 - KOMO News

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.