Tag: san francisco

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Cincinnati named finalist to become WWF’s 2013 Earth Hour City Capital

Cincinnati named finalist to become WWF’s 2013 Earth Hour City Capital.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has put together a list of the cities participating in the Earth Hour City Challenge. Within that list, WWF lists Chicago, Cincinnati and San Francisco as the three finalists in World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour City Challenge for 2013. More from World Wildlife Fund:

The cities were chosen by WWF and global management consultancy Accenture in recognition of the steps their community has taken to prepare for increasingly extreme weather and transition towards a 100% renewable energy future. The finalists were selected among 29 of the most forward-thinking cities in the country which have all committed to minimize their carbon footprint and ready their communities for the dangerous local consequences of climate change.

Cincinnati is developing a power aggregation agreement that would make it the largest city in the U.S. to supply its energy entirely from renewable sources and committing to reducing carbon emissions two percent annually for 42 years. The city is also working with residents, businesses and community leaders throughout the city to adopt climate-smart policies; expanding current tree planting efforts, promoting metro ridership, educating students about sustainability and conducting energy audits for local non-profits.

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City neighborhoods with the most single men, women

City neighborhoods with the most single men, women.

Single men and women are often in a quest to find other single men and women. The quest leads people to debate which cities are best for singles, but what is the truth behind the rhetoric, and how do you think Cincinnati stacks up? More from Atlantic Cities:

To figure out where the gender ratio is most skewed in each direction, we went right to the data and looked at the ratio of men living alone to women living alone in order to assess the dating scene. We also subtracted estimates of the gay and lesbian population in order to focus on men and women interested in dating someone of the opposite sex. Finally, we excluded people older than 65 since differences in life expectancy skew the gender ratio in the later years.

In most metros, the neighborhood with the highest ratio of men to women is in or near downtown, as well as in recently redeveloped neighborhoods like Boston’s Waterfront or Long Island City. The neighborhoods with the highest ratio of women to men tend to be more residential, like San Francisco’s Marina and Seattle’s Queen Anne, and more upscale (and safe), like the Upper East Side and Upper Connecticut Avenue. Some are near major retail centers, like Chicago’s Near North Side, the Beverly Center in LA, and Atlanta’s Perimeter Mall.

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Why hyper-local won’t save newspapers (and what will)

Why hyperlocal won’t save newspapers (and what will).

Newspapers have been desperately trying to figure out how to make the finances work as the ground shifts beneath them in an increasingly digital world. In Cincinnati, much like elsewhere throughout the country, local newspapers attempted to compete with bloggers by shifting towards “hyper-local” coverage, but it has yet to work. More from Per Square Mile:

Whenever a business or industry falls on hard times, people trip over themselves to propose turnaround plans. Newspapers are no exception, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to be left out of the fray. My diagnosis? Too many newspapers have placed their bets on intensely local coverage, or hyper-local as they call it in the biz. That’s a mistake. To remain profitable, they need to concentrate on a particular topic instead of a geographic region.

That epiphany occurred to me Christmas morning over a bowl of cereal at my in-laws. I was flipping through the Houston Chronicle when I noticed the paper had branded their energy coverage, FuelFix. Not the best name, but it’s a sound idea. Houston is a major hub for the oil and gas industry, and Chronicle reporters have spent years, even decades reporting on it. Who else would be so positioned to cover the industry?

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More than $64.3B to be invested in North American rail transit in 2013

More than $64.3B to be invested in North American rail transit in 2013.

As the migration of people from the suburbs back to cities continues, so does the investment in urban forms of transport. A modern streetcar route is currently under construction in Cincinnati, and bus rapid transit, light rail and commuter rail is all being studied for the area. Nationally, more than $64.3 billion is being invested to expand rail transit. More from The Transport Politic (including map):

What is evident is that certain cities are investing far more than others. Among American cities, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington stand out as regions that are currently investing particularly dramatically. Toronto has the biggest investments under way in Canada. These metropolitan areas have invested billions of local dollars in interconnected transit projects that will aid in the creation of more livable, multi-modal environments. Dynamic, growing cities require continuous investment in their transit systems.

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The people want the parks, and lots of ’em

The people want the parks, and lots of ’em.

In no surprise to anyone, it turns out that people like to live near parks and that they want lots of parks from which to choose. Well then, which cities invest the most and have the best park options for their current and potential residents? Not Cincinnati, technically, but the Queen City does invest more in its park system than most. More from City Parks Blog:

Large amounts of parkland in cities is important, but equally vital is to have parks which are nearby and easily accessible to residents, according to the latest report by The Trust for Public Land. In seven of the nation’s largest cities — New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. — nine out of 10 residents live within a one-half mile walk to a park, according to the report.

The absolute amount of urban parkland is also significant, and among the cities with the largest park acreage are Jacksonville, Houston, Phoenix, San Diego and Los Angeles. But some cities, even those with a lot of parkland, are not laid out so that the land is well-located for residents’ easy access. These places include Charlotte, Jacksonville, Louisville, and Indianapolis.