I am posting to this blog to hopefully find others who would like to post their opinions or do an interview with me regarding my research topics. I will try to give my interest and research a context—how I became interested, why I’m posting for public input. Please bear with me; this is my first blog post ever…
The proposed Cleveland Clinic facility planned for Twinsburg (around Darrow Rd. and 480) seems to be both contested and welcomed, depending on who you talk with. I am doing research for my master’s thesis regarding how wetlands are regulated and mitigated—specifically using the proposed Cleveland Clinic facility as a case study to examine the regulatory, economic, environmental, and social impacts of this construction project, and the resulting mitigation.
More specifically, I am interested in understanding the relationships between national, state, and local governments as well as private entities and the public concerning wetland regulation and mitigation. I am currently interviewing Ohio EPA staff, environmental consultants, academics, Cleveland Clinic staff, and Twinsburg citizens.
I became interested in this case study site during the summer of 2008 while I was an intern for Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. I heard about the site through the news and through EPA proceedings. I was immediately interested in the proposed Cleveland Clinic site due to the high profile nature of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the large amount of high quality streams and wetlands on the parcel to be developed. I also found the site interesting because several previous attempts at development had been made in the past, but this attempt seems to be the one that will actually be successful.
My research questions include:
1. What socio-eco-political factors contribute to how this land and landscape will be preserved/degraded?
2. How is wetland mitigation and banking used as a policy tool/maneuver?
3. How does this history of this site affect how the landscape will be changed/degraded? What makes this attempt at development different than the other unsuccessful attempts?
Other questions include:
1. How do we better account for and mitigate wetlands? Is No Net Loss of wetlands achievable or important?
2. Are mitigation banks successful at replacing lost wetlands’ functions?
3. How far away should wetland mitigation take place from an impacted or filled wetland? How could this distance impair local water quality?
4. How does the economic gain and job creating capacity of the proposed facility compare to environmental loss? Does this or should this matter?
5. What do you think about the location of the proposed CCF facility in relation to the existing University Hospital branch? Is the location of this project purposeful?
If you are interested in my research or would like to comment on any of these aspects, or anything I left out, please do! I am experimentally using this blog as a medium for making connections with Northeast Ohio locals and to enhance my thesis research.
Feel free to post comments to this page or email me directly at elizathrush [at] gmail [dot] com.