CEO Blog

Summer days are long in Cleveland. Our northern latitude, and daylight savings time, mean that during June and July, daylight lingers past nine o-clock. For several weeks, I don’t need to turn on the lights in the kitchen while I make my morning coffee. And there is plenty of time for an evening walk before it gets dark.

That walk may include ice cream. Mason’s Creamery is only a few blocks from our home. This time of year, the shop is busy, with people picking their favorite flavors and enjoying them at one of the picnic tables near the stand, or strolling, cup or cone in hand. A few blocks in the other direction, the same thing is happening at Mitchell’s on 25th street. Depending on your neighborhood, your go-to place might be Honey Hut, Graeter’s, Handel’s or East Coast Custard. If one of these regional favorites isn’t close to you, there’s probably a Dairy Queen or a Baskin-Robbins nearby. Last week, I heard the familiar sounds of an ice cream truck as it drove past the park near our house—another sight (and sound) of summer.

Summer days bring a lot of opportunities to eat outside, and not just ice cream. A hot dog tastes better at the ballpark; restaurants offer more patio seating; grills and picnic areas in the parks are busy; and there are plenty of backyard barbeques and s’mores made over a campfire. In her Ecohappiness Project blog, Sandi Schwartz writes about the mental health benefits of eating outdoors: fresh air, natural light, greenery, a view of the water. All help promote calm and reduce stress.

And if you can walk there, that’s good for you, too.

Walking, even that 10-minute walk to the ice cream stand, has health benefits. An article in Prevention notes “regular walking modifies your nervous system,” helping reduce stress, anxiety or depression. Social walks help promote connections and make you feel happier. We meet our neighbors (and their dogs), admire their flower beds and gardens, and learn more about the people and places around us.

Walking a little further, and a little faster (and maybe cutting back a little on the ice cream), promotes heart health, helps burn calories and  maintain a healthy weight, and reduces the risk for certain chronic diseases. Regular, vigorous walks of 30 minutes or more promote brain health, improves the quality of sleep, and helps improve bone and muscle health.

There are multiple benefits of fresh air and exercise. So, is your neighborhood walkable? Air quality, especially during the summer months, can be a challenge for people with respiratory problems. And not all neighborhoods score well in the “three S’s” of walkability. Cleveland City Planner Phil Kidd identifies these as “sidewalks, shade and speeding.” Pedestrian-friendly corridors promote walking and enhance neighborhood development and small business growth. Sidewalks and walking paths, parks, green spaces and tree canopies, as well as efforts to improve safety when cars, cyclists and pedestrians share space, help expand the walkability and quality of life for residents.

The Greater Cleveland area includes many walkable neighborhoods. In the 2023 edition of Foot Traffic Ahead, Cleveland was rated the highest nationally among metropolitan areas in the Social Equity Index, which compares affordability of housing and services, transit quality and walkability for different socioeconomic groups. Walkable areas are “affordable or relatively easy to access without a car.” My not-very-scientific (if delicious) “ice cream index” is a real-world example. A community needs to be walkable, and there should be things to walk to.

Even though Cleveland can point to successes in walkability, there is room for improvement. Policy recommendations in Foot Traffic Ahead include zoning reforms to promote diversity in the built environment, fostering non-auto travel, investing in affordability for housing and businesses, and planning for climate impacts. Livable Cuyahoga County and Cleveland’s Complete and Green Streets Initiative are public efforts to build walkability and accessibility throughout our region. These are complemented by community and nonprofit efforts to build advocacy and awareness of economic, health and environmental benefits of walkable communities. These are policy and design questions that impact quality of life for all of us. The good news is there are many opportunities to be part of the conversation and part of the solution.

Here are some ways you can learn more and get involved.

• Learn more about Better Streets Committees and how you can be involved in the initiative of Bike Cleveland in your neighborhood.
• Read Cleveland City Planner Phil Kidd’s blog, Every Street Cleveland
• Read Cleveland’s Complete and Green Streets framework
• Become a Livable Cuyahoga Ambassador
• Participate in a Block Club in your neighborhood

Okay, who wants ice cream?

About the Ice Cream Index. . .

How far do you have to walk to find ice cream? Here are a few guidelines.

• Can I walk there? (even if you might choose to drive). The location should be accessible on foot.
• Is it ice cream? Quality and flavor are subjective measures. Dairy, non-dairy, so long as it is frozen. If you have to eat it before it melts, or if there is a potential of brain-freeze if you eat it too fast, then it qualifies as “ice cream.”
• It doesn’t have to be an ice cream stand. If they sell ice cream, then it qualifies. When my children were small, we would walk to the corner convenience store for “gas station ice cream”, those Good Humor drumsticks, popsicles, push-ups or Klondike Bars in the freezer case.

Your score:

 You live over the ice cream shop.

 You can walk to the shop in 15 minutes or less.

 It takes 15 – 25 minutes to reach the store on foot.

 A walk for ice cream takes longer than 25 minutes