LEV LAYS IT OUT: Yesterday's announcement that Cleveland has been chosen (along with Corpus Christi and Taipei) as an "Intel Digital City" will leave many Clevelanders scratching their heads. Why is everyone so excited about wireless networking for policemen and code inspectors? Does this have anything to do with large-scale public Internet access or not? What's the bigger plan?

One Cleveland impresario Lev Gonick finally makes a really serious effort to answer these questions in the latest posting on his "Bytes From Lev" blog. The piece, called "Designing a Metropolitan Strategy for Wireless in Cleveland", is long and difficult, and the "strategy" it describes is quite complicated... nothing like the quick-win municipal and community wireless plans being rolled out on a daily basis in other cities. There's no point in trying to summarize it. Block out a couple of hours, find a quiet corner, and read it yourself.

Whether or not you end up convinced, you'll certainly end up educated.

(Thanks, Cuyahoga Planning Commission Weblog.)