Author: Randy A. Simes

Randy is an award-winning urban planner who founded UrbanCincy in May 2007. He grew up on Cincinnati’s west side in Covedale, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s nationally acclaimed School of Planning in June 2009. In addition to maintaining ownership and serving as the managing editor for UrbanCincy, Randy has worked professionally as a planning consultant throughout the United States, Korea and the Middle East. After brief stints in Atlanta and Chicago, he currently lives in the Daechi neighborhood of Seoul’s Gangnam district.

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News

Thursdays at the Wisp


There is a new weekly activity that is sure to please…Thursday nights at the Blue Wisp are now UrbanCincy nights. When you go you can now get $3 off of the cover charge – typically $8 reduced to $5 for readers of UrbanCincy. The first Thursday night special will be on Valentines Day with the Dan Faehnle Quartet taking the stage. Dan Faehnle is know for his jazz guitar and even better – he’s an Ohio native.

But before the first Thursday night special, there is another performance which is definitely worth checking out. World renowned organ virtuoso, Joey DeFrancesco, will be performing with his trio on February 12th for two shows (7:30pm & 9:30pm). This is a fantastic opportunity to check out a simply outstanding performance that will be full of blistering speed and fantastic control. Make sure you come and see what the hype is about and make your reservations now.

Spread the word and tell everyone you know about the new UrbanCincy nights at the Blue Wisp.

Preview Dan Faehnle’s latest record – Ohio Lunch – now!
Preview Joey DeFrancesco now!

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News

Downtown/OTR top living destination(s) – Reader’s Choice

In what turned out to be the most active poll to date, Downtown/OTR ran away with the selection as being the top living destination as per the readers of UrbanCincy. The Downtown/OTR selection accounted for 45% of the overall vote…way ahead of the second place finisher (Mt. Adams) which finished with 12% of the vote.

Some complained that it isn’t necessarily correct to group places like Downtown and OTR, as well as, places like Hyde Park and Oakley. The goal was not to lump the places together, but rather group them together for their geographic relationship to one another.

So like always, please do tell why you voted the way you did…if you voted for Downtown/OTR did you prefer one over the other?

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News

In the moment at the CAC

The Contemporary Arts Center is one of those special gems in Cincinnati. It showcases brilliant works of art, and is in what is considered, “…the most important American building to be built since the end of the Cold War.” In addition to the museum’s already great exhibits that include Julian Stanczak, Graphic Content, and Odili Donald Odita: FLOW there are some new ones that are opening soon that should be a real treat.

Piece from Daniel Libeskind: Blurring Lines exhibit

Space is the Place (2/2 – 4/13) features an international selection of recent works on the theme of space exploration-its history, limitations, and potential. LeWitt x 2 (2/23 – 5/4) will exhibit Sol LeWitt: Structure and Line, featuring the work of this esteemed American artist over the course of his long and prolific career. And finally is the one that I most look forward to – Daniel Libeskind: Blurring Lines (2/23 – 5/11) will display models, drawings and multimedia displays that will break down the key themes that Libeskind uses in his architecture.

Something to note is that members, of the CAC, get free admission and sneak previews of the exhibits. These previews often times include the primary artist along with the customary sampling of wine and other assortments.

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News

Reducing Cincinnati’s greenhouse gases

The City of Cincinnati has established a Climate Protection Steering Committee (PDF 48kb) to help the City figure out how it can be more environmentally responsible and to examine the City’s Climate Action Plan.

Study results have shown that Cincinnati has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions since 2000, and is 6% more carbon efficient than the national average. That’s great, but more can be done…MUCH more.

The newly established Committee has recommended that Cincinnati:

“…reduce its GHG emissions by 10% by 2012 (short term goal); 40% by 2027 (mid term goal); and 86% by 2050 (long term goal).”

This long-term goal also falls in line with what most scientists consider the necessary reduction (80% by 2050) in order to stabilize the planet’s climate at a “tolerable level.” So how do we accomplish this…well the second highest source of GHG emissions, in Cincinnati, is transportation. At the same time Cincinnati has no rail transit alternative for local/regional commuting patterns. It seems that it might be about time to start looking into such alternatives.

External Links:
Ohio Hub Plan (regional rail)
Cincinnati Lightrail
Cincinnati Streetcar

Graph Credit:
United States Environmental Protection Agency

Categories
News Politics Transportation

Ohio Hub Plan Advocacy

Like the idea of regional rail transportation in Ohio? Well there are a few things you could do to be more impactful when it comes to making this goal a reality.

All Aboard Ohio is the statewide advocacy group for regional high-speed rail, and they have now introduced a new online petition. Their goal with this is to, “forward the link to this online petition to every email address in Ohio leading up to our LegislativeSummit on April 30th.” Primarily what they’re advocating for is the development of the Ohio Hub Plan.

Another thing you could do is write letters to your congressional representative and/or your related member in Senate. We need to bind together and work towards accomplishing this goal. Sign the petition, it literally takes about 30 seconds.

Image Credit:
Ohio Department of Transportation