Month: January 2011

Categories
Business News Politics

It’s time to comprehensively reexamine Cincinnati’s neighborhood boundaries

As the housing market continues to be difficult, homeowners around Cincinnati are looking for every advantage they can get. In some recent cases this has included those around the Hyde Park neighborhood to petition Cincinnati City Council to merge their residential pockets into the more desirable neighborhood.

These residents claim that being included in the Hyde Park neighborhood will immediately improve the value of their home due to how it is listed in the Cincy MLS. Maybe so, but nothing is in fact changing other than a label.

Over time Cincinnati and its unique and identifiable neighborhoods have changed, but there are several turf wars, so to speak, going on around town. Pendleton struggles for a separate identity from Over-the-Rhine; Covedale is doing the same with West Price Hill; portions of Oakley and Evanston want to be included into Hyde Park; and try to not even unravel the complexities going on in Uptown between Clifton Heights, Fairview, University Heights, The Heights, Clifton, and Corryville.

Surely the residents and business owners know their respective neighborhoods best, and city leaders should listen. The current approach of waiting until a certain homeowners association or some other group of concerned citizens comes forward is a reactive way to run a city. Instead, the city should empower its citizens in the ongoing Comprehensive Plan and completely redraw all of the neighborhood boundaries within city limits.

Should Fay Apartments, Millvale, English Woods, East Westwood and California all be their own official city neighborhoods? And likewise, shouldn’t places like Covedale, Pendleton and O’Bryonville be given consideration for neighborhood status. I think so, and I think city officials should be looking at all of these issues so that they can be resolved once and for all.

One way to solve this issue in a non-biased way would be to define what in fact a “neighborhood” is. Currently Cincinnati has 52 neighborhoods and 37 neighborhood business districts. A good starting point might be that a “neighborhood” has to include an associated neighborhood business district or cultural center. Right away this would eliminate places like English Woods and Fay Apartments from the list of official neighborhoods as they are nothing more than housing projects. Instead they should be included in the neighborhoods that surround them.

There are many potential ways to approach this, but something needs to be done. These designations help determine how the City allocates funding to Community Councils, impacts the property values of homeowners and small businesses, and these designations help to define one of the most unique things about Cincinnati – its diverse, vibrant and identifiable neighborhoods.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Cincinnati time lapse video included in Vimeo’s global ‘Cities in Minutes’ project

Last year Vimeo organized a global project entitled Cities in Minutes. The project was intended to showcase individual cities through time lapse photography. In Cincinnati, Michael Weston and Joel Beeby put together a one minute, fourteen second video that he submitted as part of the global project that now features 69 entries from around the world.

The Cincinnati time lapse video starts over the majestic Ohio River on the popular Purple People Bridge and showcases a dramatic skyline view. From there the video moves to Fountain Square and downtown Cincinnati, then to Mt. Adams for a view of the “Big Mac” Bridge, and eventually out to Mariemont.

Weston and Beeby shot the video in summer 2010, and significant construction progress of the Great American Tower at Queen City Square is visible along with a festive atmosphere on Fountain Square.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Pretzelfest to raise funds for spring beer celebration

Join Christian Moerlein Brewing Company and the organizers and supporters of the 2011 Bockfest for a kegtapping of the official Bockfest Beer this Friday, January 21. The first-ever Pretzelfest has been organized in Over-the-Rhine as a delicious, homegrown way to raise support for the 19th annual spring beer festival, being held March 4-6, 2011.

Pretzels came about as early as 610 AD, originally used as a reward by monks for good children who memorized their prayers. A few thousand years later “Bretzels” are now a symbol of good luck, prosperity, and the perfect accompaniment to a delicious beer.

Venue 222 is hosting the event which will be a fun night of food, music, and beer. The brew on tap is the Moerlein Emancipator; a German style Doppelbock featuring six varieties of uniquely blending malts, which create a dark, robust lager with a toasted character and complex hints of caramel and toffee.

The Cincinnati Dancing Pigs, the area’s premiere jug band, will be performing that night, and six local eateries (MOTR, Shadeau Breads, Taste of Belgium, EAT WELL Catering, Skirtz & Johnston, and Mecklenburg Gardens) are offering a variety of unique pretzel creations for attendees to sample.

Admission to the event is $35 and includes sampling of freshly baked pretzels, four drink tickets, a brat, and an entry into the raffle for the Ultimate Bockfest Weekend. You can purchase tickets at the door, but space is limited, so buy them online in advance up to two hours before the event.

All proceeds from Pretzelfest, Ultimate Bockfest Weekend, and the Arnold’s Bathtub Raffle (a chance to drive the famous Arnold’s bathtub in the Bockfest Parade) go directly to supporting Bockfest. This homegrown weekend relies on grassroots support, and what better way to show some Cincy love by drinking beer?

PretzelFest will take place this Friday, January 21 from 6pm to 10 pm at Venue 222, located at 222 E. 14th Street in historic Over-the-Rhine.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Arnold’s to host local event this Saturday

This Saturday night Cincinnati’s oldest tavern, Arnold’s Bar & Grill is hosting a party to celebrate all things Cincinnati. With the rousing success of last year’s Local, Local, Local party they have decided to bring it back again, and just like any sequel this one promises to be bigger and better than the original.

When people around Cincinnati celebrate all things local, it of course has to start with beer, and Arnold’s has that covered in a major way this Saturday. There will be specials on all things Christian Moerlein related including Hudy, Burger, Little Kings, the standard Moerlein products as well as the very special Arnold’s 1861 Porter which was made right here in Cincinnati’s historic Over the Rhine.

Reps and executives from Moerlein will be on hand giving out free gifts and talk about their beer.  Additionally, Mike Morgan will be on hand to sign and sell his book entitled When Beer Was King.  Over-the-Rhine Brewery District president Steve Hampton will also be there to talk all things Cincinnati beer related.

What would a night at Arnold’s be without local favorite and Cincinnati aficionado Jake Speed putting on a show? Jake has a monthly variety show entitled Old Time Music Revue, and he will be taking the stage with Sean Geil of local band The Tillers. Given the historical significance of Local, Local, Local (The Sequel) it can only be assumed that Jake will have something special planned for the evening entertainment.

In addition to beer and music, Arnold’s (map) is bringing in four local artists to display their work in the revamped gallery on the second floor of Arnold’s. Jason Haley, Dan Justes, Lisa Sullivan, and Mandy Tudor will have their work on display. There will also be a special menu of Moerlein influenced food and Gelato from local guys Madisono’s. Everything gets going at 7pm on Saturday night, with the Jake Speed’s show kicking in at 9pm.

Arnold’s Bar & Grill photograph by UrbanCincy contributor Thadd Fiala.

Categories
Development News Politics Transportation

The surprising story of sustainability in Seoul

When thinking of the mega-cities in Asia, one does not often first think of sustainability or environmental stewardship. But the reality, as I experienced in Seoul, is much different from the perception.

As the 24.5 million-person mega-city continues to grow both up and out, Korean leaders have turned a watchful eye to environmental sustainability. Projects like the removal of an elevated highway to restore a stream through the heart of the city, riverfront park development, investments in transit, and a massive transition to electric-powered buses are powering the world’s third largest city towards a sustainable future that was once considered inconceivable.

Cheonggyecheon Stream Restoration:
In the heart of Seoul’s Jongno-gu is a sub-level stream. The Cheonggyecheon Stream stretches six kilometers and follows the path of what was previously an offensive elevated highway. The highway was removed and replaced by the stream and two narrow parallel roadways.

While the $900 million project received much criticism and pushback when it began in 2003, the result has been one of the most successful projects of Lee Myung-Bak’s administration. Since the stream opened in 2005, Koreans, and visitors alike, flock to the stream for casual strolls, use it as a place to jog or relax, and the stream has become the epicenter for major cultural events like the annual Seoul Lantern Festival.

Environmentally speaking, the restoration of the Cheonggyecheon Stream has helped to increase wildlife in the area, cool down the urban heat island effect in the immediate vicinity by an average of 38.5 degrees, decrease automobile traffic, and increase transit ridership.

What the stream does so successfully is provide a corridor of open space in an otherwise extremely busy and crowded city center. It serves as both a welcoming getaway as much as a symbol for the future of a more eco-friendly Seoul.

Banpo Hangang Park:
If you head south from the Cheonggyecheon you will pass by Namsan Tower and park, U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, the famed Itaewon neighborhood along with several other neighborhoods. At that point you will reach the Han River. There the southern bank of the river has, in recent years, been transformed into a world-class park in an effort to restore the river’s edge while also creating a dynamic new park space for those living in the otherwise congested Seoul.

The project began in 2007 and saw its first elements come online in April 2009. Inside the linear park visitors are able to find playgrounds, an inline skating track, soccer field, basketball courts, bike lanes and a rental shop, picnic locations and other recreational opportunities.

The park is part of the larger Hangang Renaissance Project, but represents a movement taking place around the world to transform flood-prone areas into functional park spaces. In Seoul, the addition of open space is of even greater importance than many other cities, but the Banpo Hangang Park is similar to the string of riverfront parks in Cincinnati including the new Central Riverfront Park, Sawyer Point, Bicentennial Commons, and the International Friendship Park.

Transit & Electric Buses:
In addition to having the world’s third largest subway system and a truly robust bus network, Seoul officials have announced that they intend to convert the city’s massive bus fleet to electric. In fact, transportation officials have announced that half (120,000 buses) of its entire fleet will be electric by 2020 – by far the most aggressive goal anywhere in the world.

The conversion of Seoul’s buses to electric is matched by their willingness to invest in their system. The city boasts a large bus rapid transit system that was smartly copied from Germany, fast and timely service, commuter and circulator lines, and a pay card system that integrates with taxis and trains all throughout the Republic of Korea.

Combine these projects with the wave of green building developments and other cultural movements towards sustainability and you have yourself a surprising mega-city in east Asia that has shifted its attention from simply growing as fast as possible, to growing the best way possible.