Category: Up To Speed

Links to keep you up to speed on what’s happening in Cincinnati and what we can learn from other cities.

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Up To Speed

Better Streets are Better Public Places

Better Streets are Better Public Places

As many communities start to require a complete streets approach to roadway planning it is important for cities such as Cincinnati to remember the elements of good street planning or face the consequences of the STROAD. Kaid Benfield highlights the ingredients to creating a great pedestrian friendly street that serves as a place to visit instead of a way to pass through. Read more at the NRDC Switchboard:

But, when I say that a street is not just a “street,” I mean that it is not just a surface for motorized travel.  It is also the sidewalk, the curb, the trees and “street furniture” that line it; the facings of the shops, homes, and other buildings and uses along the way.  It is not just about transportation, but also about civic definition and social and commercial interaction.  It is a system, at a minimum, and should at least aspire to becoming a place, as Victor asserts.

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Up To Speed

After 20 years of results, it turns out that transit skeptics in St. Louis were wildly wrong

After 20 years of results, it turns out that transit skeptics in St. Louis were wildly wrong.

Hamilton County residents voted on a half-cent sales tax in 2002 that would have transformed the region’s transportation options. Through that new funding, the region would have completely rebuilt and restructured its bus service, built five light rail lines, and several streetcar lines. Much skepticism, touted by opponents and not unlike what St. Louis voters experienced in their own public vote 20 years ago. The difference is that St. Louis voters approved their measure while Cincinnatians did not. It turns out that the opponents and skeptics in St. Louis were wrong…wildly wrong. More from the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

To say there were doubters that the fledgling MetroLink light-rail service would catch on with riders back in 1993 would be a monumental understatement…Costello also recalled how Washington “bean counters” assured locals that “there is no way that you will meet your ridership numbers.” By contrast, he said, MetroLink exceeded the projected 10-year levels within two years.

Nations recalled how a 1987 report predicted light-rail ridership in St. Louis would be about 3 million by 2000. That year, he said, people boarded trains more than 14 million times…MetroLink now logs more than 17 million boardings a year — many of them commuters and students. Regional leaders also credit light rail with spurring residential and commercial development near stations.

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Up To Speed

Young black men in America still often viewed as invisible or a threat

Young black men in America still often viewed as invisible or a threat.

In the wake of the George Zimmerman ruling the nation has begun a serious discussion about race  in America, and the standing of young black men in our communities. While racial progress has been made throughout our nation of immigrants, young black men are often viewed today as a threat in our cities or, perhaps worse yet, not seen at all. More from NextCity:

One of the main tragic factors in the George Zimmerman trial verdict, one that existed well before Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin last year, is this failure to see young black men in our cities — and when they do register, we see them as threats. It’s a cognitive failure to which Zimmerman was especially vulnerable when he chose to follow and kill Martin, but he is not alone in experiencing it.

…it was people of color in central Florida communities like Goldsboro and cities like Sanford and Osceola who turned out big last November to vote, helping President Obama win Florida and, ultimately, reelection. Afterward, Mitt Romney’s campaign aides said they lost because “voters they never even knew existed” turned out in these communities. Those invisible voters were mostly African Americans and Puerto Ricans from the depressed areas Williams referenced.

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Up To Speed

Millennial cohort will have over-sized impact on retail, real estate

Millennial cohort will have oversized impact on retail, real estate

The Millennial Generation, also known as Echo Boomers or Generation Y, is roughly defined as people born between the early 1980s and early 2000s. As members of this generation start to make up a bigger portion of the workforce, and eventually become a bigger force in politics, a number of changes are bound to take place. In addition to preferring urban living in greater numbers than Baby Boomers and Generation X, Millennials also have different preferences when it comes to media, technology, shopping, transportation, and politics. More from Urban Land Magazine:

Over the last two to three years, echo boomers have been fueling the demand for rental housing in urbanized areas. Since 2009, there has been a steady increase in multifamily construction, climbing from 109,000 units in 2009 to 245,000 units in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The new multifamily rentals are not limited to coastal cities. For example, from January to September 2012, Houston’s multifamily housing development rate increased 70 percent over the same period in 2011.

Demand for rental units has increased most dramatically in tech centers such as San Francisco and the Silicon Valley area; Austin, Texas; Denver; Boston; and New York City. But even without the tech industry serving as a catalyst, the sheer size of the echo boom demographic has fueled demand for apartments—particularly those located in high-amenity cities and suburban agglomerations.

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Up To Speed

Media Bridges to close by the end of 2013

Media Bridges to close by the end of 2013

Media Bridges, “Cincinnati’s Community Media Center,” will be shutting down this year due to a lack of funding. The organization currently operates Cincinnati’s public access television stations, a radio station, and provides training and equipment to allow members of the community to create video and audio productions for these outlets.

Up until 2011, the organization was funded by Time Warner Cable, as required by the state of Ohio. After TWC lobbied the state to end this requirement, the City of Cincinnati stepped in to provide temporary funding for one year. However, funding was eliminated in the most recent budget. Officials cited feedback from the city’s “priority-driven” budgeting process, where residents ranked the organization as a low priority. More from CityBeat:

The city’s budget cuts were originally considered in December, but City Council managed to restore some funding to keep the organization afloat. Prior to the partial restoration, Bishop told CityBeat the cuts would be a “meteor” to his organization’s budget.

City officials back then defended the cuts to Media Bridges, citing city surveys that ranked the program poorly in terms of budgetary importance. For the surveys, the city used meetings and mailed questionnaires to gauge public opinion.