Making Sense of Place – Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City

About the Film

A documentary film and educational outreach project produced as a collaboration of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Northern Light Productions.

Making Sense of Place – Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City is a one-hour documentary film about deterioration in the urban core and older suburbs in what was once America’s 5th-largest city, concurrent with growth at the suburban periphery.

Through the eyes and voices of Cleveland residents, the film explores the interrelationships of individual choices, the democratic process and market forces in the region. Many factors contribute to the patterns of the last several decades, including issues of race and class, taxes and schools, and major shifts in population and jobs.

Like the first film in the series, Phoenix: The Urban Desert, the Cleveland film seeks to educate and inspire citizens to engage in a better-informed civic dialogue about social equity, diversity and economic opportunity. The goal is to promote this dialogue across a wide range of residents, policymakers, elected officials, civic leaders, advocates, activists and opinion leaders, by providing information and context for future planning in Greater Cleveland’s growth and revitalization. While Cleveland is the case study in this film, the personal stories and narrations about the forces that shape current growth patterns are applicable to many other cities and regions across the country.

Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City was shot in digital video on location in Cleveland in 2004-2005, and is 58 minutes long. The film includes both original photography by Northern Light Productions and historical and archival footage.

Northern Light Productions conducted dozens of interviews with residents, business leaders, commentators and others to trace a narrative of both despair and hope, particularly in revitalizing neighborhoods such as University Circle, Tremont and parts of Hough. “This film is for a general audience who feels that there is something at stake when they think about the city they live in,” said Bestor Cram, founder of Northern Light Productions.

Broad educational outreach is a key component of the Making Sense of Place film series. Partnerships and collaboration with community organizations, civic groups and other institutions will enhance the impact of the film. Resource materials to be used in conjunction with the film, including a moderator's guide to facilitate discussions following film showings and a teacher's guide for classroom use, will be developed.