10 Most Enlightened Suburbs

I enjoyed reading "Ten Most Enlightened Suburbs" on Planetizen's e-news. No doubt Shaker's housing stock, public schools, access to rail lines, and diversity are great assets. In a spirit of friendly competition, though, I would suggest that Cleveland Heights, Shaker’s larger neighbor to the north, is just as worthy of recognition.

Our community has a more varied housing stock than Shaker’s, enjoys vibrant commercial districts, and shares its neighboring city’s commitment to public education and the fostering of a diverse population. Cleveland Heights offers attractions like the Cedar Lee Theater, home base for Northeast Ohio's leading independent movie chain; Cain Park, the unique home to two warm-weather performance venues and a nationally recognized summer arts festival; Coventry, a regionally significant neighborhood, centered on an iconic street that features street fairs, locally owned stores and restaurants (including two independent bookstores), and a vibe all its own; numerous community-oriented organizations such as Heights Arts; and a citizen-published monthly newspaper, the Heights Observer.

Anyone familiar with the dynamic cities of Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights and their setting adjacent to Cleveland’s University Circle would almost certainly say that Cleveland Heights deserves, at the very least, to share in the accolades your article bestows upon Shaker.

While nobody in the know could complain about your choice of Montgomery County, MD, one can certainly be concerned about your inclusion of Shaker Heights, OH and exclusion of Oak Park, IL.

Sadly, Shaker Heights is showing some signs of resegregating -- namely becoming a predominantly Black community. Shaker Heights leaders have put maintaining stable integration on the back burner.

On the other hand, Oak Park continues to be a stable, racially-integrated community in which the proportion of the population that is of African descent is roughly what it would be in a color-blind housing market without the distortions racial discrimination causes. Although Oak Park's elected officials lately have been negligent toward maintaining the village's racial integration, the populace has been much more vigilant and supportive.

In fact, one might be concerned about most of your line up of "enlightened" places, most of which are highly racially segregated including Naperville, Illinois. Then again, social issues have never been of much concern to the new urbanists, now have they?

Please consider adding Ashland Oregon to your list of wonderful progressive towns.