The Future of East Cleveland: A Collaborative Approach with Seventh Hill and UrbanistAI

The City of East Cleveland has identified its western border as a key focus area for urban revitalization. The master developer, Cuyahoga Land Bank, ignited this transformation by initiating Connect East Cleveland — an interactive and collaborative endeavor aimed at reimagining and revitalizing the public spaces along Euclid Avenue, the city’s western gateway. The ultimate goal: to collaboratively formulate recommendations that will direct future investments and architecturally and culturally define the neighborhood.

Community members at the AI visioning station of the Open House. Photo: Seventh Hill.

Seventh Hill, a leading local urban design consultancy, spearheaded the co-creation process for Connect East Cleveland. One of the cornerstone events in this initiative was an Open House, a well-attended gathering that encouraged community members to actively contribute to place-making and place-keeping strategies for their immediate environment.

The Open House event featured a variety of interactive engagement stations, each designed to solicit hands-on community feedback. One such station harnessed the capabilities of UrbanistAI, instantly translating attendees’ ideas into photorealistic visual renderings. Utilizing our intuitive platform, Seventh Hill and local residents co-created a wealth of visual concepts, covering everything from streetscapes and green spaces to the overarching aesthetic of the neighborhood.

The Open House offered many alternatives for envisioning the neighborhood at different stations. Photo: Seventh Hill.

UrbanistAI’s participatory design platform enabled Seventh Hill to:

• Involve individuals from diverse backgrounds, thereby enriching the quality of discourse in urban planning.
• Foster a collaborative setting where local insights seamlessly blended with innovative design solutions.
• Develop a cohesive, inclusive vision for East Cleveland, anchored in principles of social democracy and mutual respect.

The incorporation of UrbanistAI significantly enhanced the impact of the event, epitomizing how technology can elevate urban planning to be more inclusive, sustainable, and genuinely community-driven.

Visit our website to explore more about UrbanistAI.