Tag: young professionals

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Development News Politics

Atlanta…What I’ve Learned

In case you may or may not know…I have been working down here in Atlanta for the past few months, and will be returning to Cincinnati very soon. I had a goal of not only getting lots of great job experience, but I also wanted to learn as much as I could about this often ballyhooed city. Here are some of the things I’ve learned and just some of my observations.

1. Atlanta is often considered to be THE spot for blacks to live. While I noticed a lot more middle-class blacks I also noticed that Atlanta still suffers from the same issues of racism that everywhere else does. There are people who resent the fact that Atlanta is such a destination spot for blacks…and since you have a good number of middle/upper-class blacks you see prejudice from those individuals towards the lower-class blacks. As I have said before…I think prejudices and segregation result more so from economics than race or anything else.

2. The reason Atlanta is such a great place for young people is that there are a TON of young people down here. The bars I’ve been to in Virginia Highlands and Midtown have been good, but not better than the bars of Mt. Adams in my opinion. Now, there are much better clubs and a lot more of them. But like I said, what makes it a great place for young people…is all the young people (chicken or egg).

Midtown Atlanta

3. It is hot, humid, muggy and buggy…not at all my style. Give me Cincinnati’s bipolar weather behavior any day over this shenanigans.

4. I’ve never heard the term ‘Yankee’ used more in my entire life. Actually to be honest…I don’t know that I ever heard it used in normal conversation in Cincinnati.

If you would like to see more visuals of my Atlanta Documentaries you can check them out over on UrbanOhio. Here is the list of places I have up so far:

Atlantic Station | Buckhead | Midtown

*Please note that I use the term ‘blacks’ instead of African American because not everyone that is black is African American. Furthermore, the Census Bureau uses this classification for racial breakdowns in many cases.
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News

Scribble Jam 2007

Scribble Jam 2007 is coming up next weekend! It will start on Thursday, August 9th and last until Sunday, August 12th. This years event will include MC, DJ, B-Boy and Beatbox battles…and also include a graffiti expo. This event is considered “America’s Largest Hip-Hop Festival” and is the largest public display of underground hip hop that is available in the United States.

The event will be taking place throughout the city at locations like: The Poison Room, Annies Night Club, Burnett Woods and Top Cats. You’ll be able to witness, arguably, the most competitive MC battle in the country where competitors have to beat out others, from their region, in order to qualify for the Cincinnati Scribble Jam event.

This event is always a popular one and it’s recommended that you buy pre-sale tickets where you’ll save money and ensure yourself entry. The event attracts tens of thousands of hip hop fans from across the country, and has called Cincinnati home for the past 10 years. Some of the events are free, so it’s best to check the website for more details regarding the schedule, prices and details of the locations.

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Business Development News Politics

What do YPs want for downtown? I know what I want!

The Mayor’s Young Professional Kitchen Cabinet has put together a short survey on downtown. The results will be used to form recommendations to the Mayor, make decisions about future projects the YPKC may take up, and more. You can take the survey here.

Being a YP myself, I’ve got a few recommendations for the group. First off, get some eateries that are trendy and most importantly affordable! Secondly (staying with the affordable theme), work towards the development of more affordable housing options for those fresh out of college. As for retail, I would suggest trying to land some well known chain stores like H&M, Urban Outfitters, and the like. These types of establishments are a draw and are typically located in urban locations.

A key component to these will be locating them along street-level. This enlivens the street and adds a unique/creative element to the street. This is the first thing you see as you are driving or walking along a street. After hours is where downtown seems to be lacking most, and having more street-level retail will help to enliven those otherwise dead parts of downtown. I would imagine that The Banks will be the poster child for this type of thing in the Cincinnati Metro, but downtown can and needs to take steps forward as well.