Category: Month in Review

A look back at the top posts on UrbanCincy.

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Month in Review

Month in Review – October 2010

It’s hard to believe that the month of October is already behind us!  UrbanCincy’s top 5 most popular articles for the month were:

  1. Over-the-Rhine is not one of nation’s most dangerous neighborhoods
    Walletpop.com caused a large stir in the local media when they announced that a portion of Over-the-Rhine was “the most dangerous neighborhood in America.” Following that proclamation, UrbanCincy analyzed the data and released its own response to what appeared to be a suspect report.
  2. A strategic residential plan for Cincinnati’s center city
    What has long held back Cincinnati has not been a lack of tourists, commerce, or entertainment, but rather it has been the lack of a critical mass of residents. The lack of this critical mass is what has prevented the CBD from attracting everyday retailers, groceries, affordable dining, and later evening hours for all of the above.
  3. Induced Traffic Demand Works Both Ways
    There is a popular saying that circulates in urban planning circles: “Widening roads to solve traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity.” Planners have shown over the past few decades that adding lanes to roads, while temporarily increasing flow, does little to address congestion because over time traffic demand continues to climb.
  4. Google updates aerial imagery of Cincinnati region
    Google has updated its aerial imagery for several major cities throughout the United States including Portland, Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati. The new imagery appears to have been taken over the summer.
  5. Local carsharing program may soon get rolling in Cincinnati
    The idea for carsharing comes from a growing number of people either going car-free or car-light. Nationally, the percentage of 16-year-old drivers with licenses has decreased from 41 percent in 1996 to 29.8 percent in 2006, and in Ohio that number has dropped five percent since 2000 alone according to the state Department of Public Safety and U.S. Census Bureau.

We also urge you to read UrbanCincy’s Q&A with the candidates for Hamilton County Commissioner before heading to the polls tomorrow.

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Month in Review

Month in Review – September 2010

During the month of September, UrbanCincy’s top stories covered two new businesses downtown, the formation of the Eight Street Design District, the loss of a popular Cincinnati blog, and the creation of UrbanCincy’s own Urban Kickball League.

Our top 5 most popular articles for the month of September were:

  1. The Yoga Bar to serve up strong sense of community downtown
    Rachel Roberts was tired of traveling, and as a well-known and beloved yoga teacher in the Cincinnati area, she was splitting her time between several different studios, none of which were near her home in downtown Cincinnati. As a result, Cincinnati’s newest yoga studio called The Yoga Bar was born.
  2. Join the first-ever OTR Urban Kickball League now!
    The league is open to all age levels and anyone interested in participating. The fall 2010 season will be the first-ever and will feature a variety of special treats and benefits for those participating outside of the kickball fun.
  3. With another Cincinnati blog possibly ending, how do we stop the bleeding?
    On Tuesday, the Cincinnati blogosphere learned that it would possibly lose one of its most well-respected and popular blogs. Kevin LeMaster, Editor and Publisher of Building Cincinnati, informed his readership that, “the Building Cincinnati experiment is likely to end,” and that he was almost certain it would end on that same day.
  4. 18 entities join to form 8th Street Design District, kick off month-long concert series
    It has long been a work in progress, but the 8th Street corridor through northeast downtown Cincinnati has evolved into a vibrant district. A district made up of trendy loft living inside former warehouses; diverse establishments like the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, Silverglades, and University Galleries; and an ever-growing collection of design-related businesses.
  5. Chef Josh Campbell to open first micro-grocery in downtown Cincinnati
    Already owner of successful ventures World Food Bar, a gourmet prepared food stand at Findlay Market, and Mayberry, a mid-range restaurant on Vine Street, Campbell (pictured, right) is expanding his food empire to include the Central Business District’s first grocery – a micro-market located at 7th and Main.
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Month in Review

Month in Review – August 2010

Queen City Square

During the month of August, UrbanCincy published several articles laying out a long-term vision for the city.  David Cole compared Cincinnati to Chicago, pointing out what we should—and shouldn’t—learn from our neighbor to the northwest.  Jake Mecklenborg analyzed the Eastern Corridor rail plan and explained why it might not currently be the best plan for Cincinnati.  Randy Simes reported on Cincinnati’s success in completely remaking its riverfront, and criticized Peter Bronson’s piece attacking The Banks and the Cincinnati Streetcar.

UrbanCincy’s top 5 articles for the month of August were:

  1. Unraveling the urban differences of Cincinnati and Chicago
    The first and most obvious difference between Cincinnati and Chicago is one of sheer scale. While driving through Indiana on the way to Chicago from Cincinnati, the transition from rural cornfields to suburban sprawl began while I was still a good 40 miles away from the Chicago Loop. Here in Cincinnati, 40 miles in any direction from Fountain Square would be considered far into the hinterland.
  2. Breaking down Cincinnati’s Eastern Corridor passenger rail plan
    At first glance it would appear that implementation of commuter rail service on the Oasis Line should require nothing more than the purchase of commuter trains and the construction of a connection between the end of active tracks and the Riverfront Transit Center. Unfortunately, the poor condition of the existing track limits traffic to a maximum twelve miles per hour.
  3. Jean-Robert’s Table to open in downtown Cincinnati August 10th
    Unanticipated construction delays, and personal reasons pushed back the original opening of Jean-Robert’s Table for the famed Cincinnati chef. The new restaurant is Jean-Robert de Cavel’s first since parting ways with long-time restaurant partners Martin and Marilyn Wade.
  4. Cincinnati’s dramatic, multi-billion dollar riverfront revitalization nearly complete
    Several decades ago Cincinnati leaders embarked on a plan to dramatically change the face of the city’s central riverfront. Aging industrial uses and a congested series of highway ramps was to be replaced by two new professional sports venues, six new city blocks of mixed-use development, a new museum, a central riverfront park, and parking garages that would lift the development out of the Ohio River’s 100-year flood plain.
  5. Cincinnati’s old money attacks the future with the promise of a failed past
    What was interesting about Bronson’s story is that he took a platform for which he enthusiastically touted the new tower and how it was accomplished, and turned it into an opportunity to lob attacks at other major projects like the Cincinnati Streetcar and The Banks development along the central riverfront. It took Bronson no more than eleven sentences before he dove head-first into his attack of both projects.
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Month in Review

Month in Review – July 2010

Christian Moerlein Lager House

July was an exciting month in Cincinnati, with lots of news on major construction projects in the urban core. The Cincinnati Streetcar received a large federal grant, meaning construction will begin this fall. There were articles on Great American Tower, which is nearing completion, and the Christian Moerlein Lager House brewpub, now under construction in the Cincinnati Riverfront Park. David Ben completed his four-part series on how the reconstruction on Fort Washing Way in the late 1990s is paying off today.

UrbanCincy’s top 5 articles for the month of July were:

  1. Moerlein Lager House to open August 2011, new details announced
    The $4 million restaurant and microbrewery will boast a large outdoor biergarten capable of seating 600 people in addition to the 500 people that can be held inside the restaurant…
  2. Cincinnati wins $25M Urban Circulator grant for modern streetcar project
    Cincinnati’s modern streetcar project has won a $25 million federal grant through the Urban Circulator Systems program. The grant was announced by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff as they awarded $293 million in federal funding for 53 transit projects nationwide…
  3. Fort Washington Way

    Great American Tower rises triumphantly above downtown Cincinnati
    Crews from Turner Construction Company continue to work on the finishing touches of Cincinnati’s new tallest skyscraper that will house a variety of companies including Great American Insurance for which the Great American Tower gets its name…

  4. Reconstruction of Fort Washington Way Redefined Cincinnati’s Urban Core
    The major change in the 1998 redesign came by untangling and streamlining the mess of highway on- and off-ramps. Doing so allowed the roadway to carry a greater capacity, increase safety, and dramatically decrease the total width of Fort Washington Way…
  5. Hidden Assets of Fort Washington Way Saving Taxpayers Millions of Dollars
    Those who enjoy spending their summer evenings at Great American Ball Park to watch our first-place Reds have probably seen the stairway entrances to the Riverfront Transit Center. Below Second Street, along the southern portion of FWW, lies an underground multi-modal transit facility…