Categories
News

Bring VH1’s Top 20 Video Countdown to Cincinnati

Some local, regional, and state leaders have worked to extend an invitation to VH1’s Top 20 Video Countdown to come to Cincinnati’s Fountain Square. This is in light of the very popular new song/video, “It’s Not My Time,” from 3 Doors Down – which was filmed in Cincinnati. The video is shot entirely in Cincinnati and covers prominent city landmarks in Over-the-Rhine, Downtown, Mt. Auburn and Lower Price Hill.

So how can you help bring the countdown to Cincinnati? The easiest way is to go to VH1’s website and vote for the 3 Doors Down video. It is really quick/easy, and we need to get to work as the video is currently at the #14 spot on the countdown. Pass on this information to as many people as you know so that we can bring the countdown to Fountain Square.

This effort would generate six hours of national publicity in roughly 90 million homes. The show is a two-hour program that airs three times during the week – beginning from 9-11am Saturdays – and features a dozen mini-remotes during which host Alison Becker touts the different venues from the assigned location of the week (insert Cincinnati). Alison would be able to tape from Fountain Square, Government Square, the Freedom Center, restaurants and nightclubs in/around Downtown, plus some views overlooking the city.

WATCH “IT’S NOT MY TIME” HERE
Categories
News

Zoning Revolution!

Neighborhoods are the heart of what makes Cincinnati an incredible city. Each neighborhood is different, and has developed over time into the vibrant places they are today. Hyde Park, Mt. Adams, Clifton, Over-the-Rhine, are all great neighborhoods. They are also illegal under current laws. So what happened? Why can we not build neighborhoods like this anymore? My theory… Euclidian Zoning.

The conventional city zoning code deals with uses. It tells what you can or cannot have at a certain place (example: commercial separated from residential). This separation of uses effectively prohibits a traditional neighborhood or mixed use development from occurring. What if, instead of thinking of buildings in uses, we thought of buildings in form? If we select certain elements that the form of the building has to have, then we can work towards creating traditional neighborhoods, instead of a series of random buildings surrounded by parking.

Andres Duany has championed this neo-traditional development form. He has asked us to do nothing more than create the places where we all want to live. If we like places like Over-the-Rhine, why not create a zoning code that allows new development to be built like Over-the-Rhine? This isn’t about recreating history, or making “fake” cities, it is about creating smart, pedestrian friendly, diverse, and beautiful neighborhoods.

Let’s make smart design legal again.

Councilwoman Roxanne Qualls’ is pursuing a plan to bring “Smart Codes” to Cincinnati. She believes that “a combination of traditional zoning codes and auto-oriented, suburban street design has threatened the built form and the design quality of our neighborhoods and business districts”. I for one, support her in this effort.

Learn More about SMART CODES HERE!

Categories
News

UrbanCincy readers are excited about streetcars

The June poll results are in…and it was a clear/decisive victory for streetcars (YouTube video about modern streetcars). The question was, “what are you most excited about over the next few years?” And phase 1 of the proposed streetcar system (141 votes) nearly tripled the amount of votes casted for the second place finisher (The Banks phase 1a – 53 votes), and tallied one more vote than the other four options combine.

I voted for the streetcar option for a pretty simple reason. It is something that helps make many of those other options (i.e. The Banks, OTR progress) more feasible and helps to spur more good things to come (i.e. future Queen City Squares). It’s like the gift that keeps on giving.

So, why did the other 279 voters vote the way they did, and most importantly, what are you going to do to help make them happen?

Image from Dewi’s Trains, Trams & Trolleys

Categories
News

Is gentrification inevitable in OTR?

So, is it? I tend to think that it is inevitable, but it does not necessarily have to be a bad thing. The word often comes with very negative connotations, especially when you throw race into the equation. This is exactly the issue in Over-the-Rhine, and it is also not a new one (see Buddy Gray).

Gentrification, by definition, is the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents. The key here is that gentrification often displaces poorer residents. An influx, of middle-class or affluent people, alone isn’t a bad thing. It is what usually comes with it that is bad – the displacement of poorer residents.

NW View over OTR by Randy Simes

So far gentrification has been taking place in/around the Gateway Quarter, but displacement hasn’t really occurred. Many of the buildings were vacant and there has been an effort, by 3CDC, to keep units at affordable levels. Some of the units have even been arranged to only accommodate individuals within certain income ranges.

As more and more new condos pop up and more new businesses arrive, the question seems only logical. How are we going to deal with the issue of gentrification in our city’s most infamous neighborhood? It is something that will take work and courage from our leaders, and dedication from the developers to do what is right.

The gentrification of OTR doesn’t have to be the divisive/negative aspect that it often is elsewhere. We know what we can do (inclusionary zoning techniques), and we know what we should do. The question really is whether the OTR power brokers will ultimately do the right thing and not displace those current residents just so they can fatten their wallets.

Categories
News

Contemporary Arts Center: ’08-’09 Exhibition Season

The 2008-2009 Exhibition Season, at the CAC, will be another great one. The CAC’s Chief Curator, Raphaela Platow, describes the upcoming season as “an opportunity to see ground-breaking moments in sculpture, painting, film, dance and multimedia, including new and site-related works.”

The season boasts artists like the 89-year old Austrian painter, Maria Lassnig, who will have her first U.S. exhibition; Mexican artist Carlos Amorales who will take part in the first collaboration with the Cincinnati Ballet in a site-related performance; the first museum exhibition of Donald Sultan’s early linoleum paintings; and the first-ever museum show anywhere for the Japanese painter Aya Uekawa.

You can become of member, of the CAC, for as little as $25/year with a Student or Senior Membership. All memberships get you exclusive discounts at the CAC store, a subscription to the CAC’s CENTERBEAT newsletter, 2 guest passes, and invites to some of the coolest parties/exhibits in town.

From left to right: Donald Sultan – Cantaloupe Pickers, 1983; Carlos Amorales – Black Cloud, 2007; Aya Uekawa – A Euro Lover, 2006; Maria Lassnig – Couple, 2005