Month: April 2011

Categories
Business News

10th anniversary of French American Business Alliance celebrates transatlantic collaboration

Monday, April 4 was officially declared the French American Business Alliance (FABA) day by Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory. And business leaders and citizens from across the region came together in downtown Cincinnati to observe the founding of the institution’s 10th year.

According to FABA, the Cincinnati region area boasts a strong partnership with France, and claims to have helped foster economic, cultural and financial relationships between the European country and the Queen City.

“European countries account for 20 percent of Ohio’s exports and France is among the four largest markets with $8 billion in Ohio exports going directly to France,” said Richard La Jeunesse, President, French American Business Alliance. “FABA is a vibrant, cultural alliance that has played an important role in bringing people of diverse backgrounds and cultures together, to develop business relationships that support Ohio’s exporting efforts.”

What started out as an effort among friends (founding president Gerard Laviec and current European American Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Anne Cappel, among others) to help young European immigrants find community in Cincinnati has grown to over 850 active members representing 115 corporations. Recently appointed French Ambassador, H.E. Fracois Delattre, made his first visit to Cincinnati for the FABA anniversary, and had much to say about the strong links between France and the “Paris of the Midwest.”

“Cincinnati is a vibrant city, which is moving forward with innovative new policies, including great new developments in their infrastructure,” noted Delattre. “These new measures make France proud to contribute to Cincinnati’s growth.”

FABA and the European American Chamber of Commerce are continually striving to help connect Cincinnatians together under the umbrella of strengthened business and professional relationships. The EACC offers networking events during the year for young professionals looking to begin and continue connections with other globally minded individuals. The next event is a happy hour on Thursday, April 14.

Photograph of Anne Cappel addressing FABA at the 10th Anniversary Gala. Picture provided by EACC for UrbanCincy.

Categories
News Opinion

Restructuring positions UrbanCincy for further, long-term growth

Since UrbanCincy’s founding in May 2007 much has changed with the website, the city and its people. What began as a humble outlet to share my personal thoughts about the city with whomever chose to read it has become so much more. UrbanCincy now features exclusive and original content, publishes eight to ten times each week, runs a seasonal kickball league, organizes events throughout the year like Bikes + Brews, and has become the place for people to get their news on Cincinnati’s urban core.

For the third time in four years, UrbanCincy has been honored to be voted as one of the best blogs in Cincinnati. This year UrbanCincy was chosen along with Wine Me, Dine Me and 365 Things to do in Cincinnati. Each year I have been honored to even have UrbanCincy considered worthy of such recognition, but it was even more satisfying this year following a great deal of transition internally at UrbanCincy.

Over the past six months UrbanCincy has successfully begun a transition that is shifting more responsibility to Jenny Kessler, who is now Operations Manager for the site. We have also restructured the contributing team to best reflect time commitments and professional capabilities. Additionally, in fall 2010 UrbanCincy entered into an innovative content sharing agreement with the Cincinnati Business Courier which will further stregthen both entities. These moves allow me to take on a greater leadership role, while also maintaining leadership continuity at UrbanCincy when I am traveling domestically or overseas with work.

This transition was not easy. At the end of 2010 the website saw a significant drop in readership when compared to previous growth trends. This was, in large part, due to less content being published on the site. We have, I believe, solved those issues and have reaffirmed UrbanCincy’s long-term position within the Cincinnati community.

The bottom line is that UrbanCincy, while still a labor of love, is better positioned today and healthier than ever. And the team of writers (Andrew Oehlerking, Dave Rolfes, Emily Schneider, Jake Mecklenborg, Jenny Kessler, Nathaniel Hammitt), photographers (Jake Mecklenborg, Thadd Fiala) and general contributors (Bryon Martin, David Ben, Kevin Wright, Travis Estell) at UrbanCincy has you, the readers, to thank for this.

I hope that UrbanCincy can continue to grow and become an even more integral part of the conversation in Cincinnati in years to come. Please let us know how we might be able to do that by contacting us at UrbanCincy@gmail.com. Thank you, and please continue to support Cincinnati’s urban core.

Categories
Business News

UC Farmers Market celebrates growth, kicks off fourth year of operation

The University of Cincinnati seasonal farmers market will begin its fourth year of operation today after being cancelled last Monday due to inclement weather. The market will run from 10am to 3pm and will include offerings from eight to ten vendors.

The 2011 year brings with it continued growth for the UC Farmers Market. Since 2008, the seasonal market has seen its number of vendors increase roughly 33 percent, hours and days of operation expand, and the number of students showing up to the markets grow. According to Shawn Tubb, the seasonal farmers market had humble beginnings.

“A farmers market is something that I and many other students had asked about hosting on campus, as other colleges were having them around the country,” explained Tubb who currently serves as UC’s Sustainability Cooridnator. “It was mostly seen as a one-time event, both to publicize local food and Findlay Market, and also hopefully convince MainStreet that it was something that could be done on a regular basis.”

Following the initial market, Tubb says, MainStreet leaders were impressed with attendance and the popularity of the market. That early success led to the support for future markets.

The UC Farmers Market now operates every Monday and is scheduled to operate until June 6 this spring. A second seasonal market will take place in the fall and continue in the same spirit of promoting local food and many Findlay Market vendors who are otherwise closed on Mondays.

“If we want to sustain our neighborhoods, and seek to improve our communities and reduce crime, it starts with taking down some of these barriers and reaching out to each other,” said Biology and Environmental Studies major Brian Kunkemoeller. “We’ve lost touch with each other, and the real beauty of the farmers market is seeing real people connect in a backyard or corner market kind of way.”

The University of Cincinnati seems to agree with Tubbs and Kunkemoeller about the importance of having the seasonal markets. After discussions began in May 2010, UC’s Office of Sustainability has agreed to operate the markets themselves and pay students to staff general operations.

Students or members of the general public interested in attending one of the weekly UC Farmers Markets this spring can do so by visiting the university’s MainStreet (map) on Mondays between 10am to 3pm. The markets are free and open to the public. Metro bus service provides convenient access to the uptown area.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

EcoSculpt on Fountain Square installs today

For the second year in a row, Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) has commissioned EcoSculpt on Fountain Square. To celebrate Earth Day in Cincinnati’s living room, the event is sculpture contest by area artists with works made entirely out of recycled and/or recyclable materials.

12 local sculptors are working today to install their works. From whales made of trash to crocheted plastic bags, the resulting art will be available to view through April 28. With some works as large as ten feet tall by ten feet wide, the result is a visible statement about utilizing and encouraging the use of recycling and recyclable materials in everyday Cincinnatians’ lives.

The Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance (GCEA) is EcoSculpt’s official sponsor. “We are excited to be a part of such an innovative event,” said Sean Fisher, General Outreach Manager for GCEA. “EcoSculpt not only spreads a message of environmental responsibility, but also provides a stage for emerging artists in the area.”

The event will culminate in an awards program on Earth Day, April 22 at 12pm on Fountain Square. Those interested can check out the sculptures on Fountain Square this weekend, and vote on their favorites at online. The votes will be used to help determine the 2011 People’s Choice Award winner.

EcoSculpt 2010 photograph by Thadd Fiala for UrbanCincy.

Categories
Development News Transportation

Guangzhou’s bus rapid transit system wins city international transport award

Streetfilms, in partnership with the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP), produced a new video highlighting Guangzhou’s bus rapid transit (BRT) system. The BRT system won the city the 2011 International Sustainable Transportation Award from ITDP, and currently serves 800,000 passengers each day.

The system is by far the largest BRT system in Asia, but comes in behind Bogota’s Transmilenio system which serves 1.2 million riders daily. The similarities are striking though. Both Guangzhou and Bogota include robust stations and heavily dedicate right-of-way. The systems are also being built in combination with other forms of transport instead of lieu of them.

“You must also think about multi modal integration,” says Xiaomei Duan, Chief Engineer, Guangzhou BRT Project. “For example, on this corridor we have three metro stations integrated with our BRT station, and around the BRT stations we have our bike stations.”

Guangzhou is the second largest city in the world with approximately 25 million people, and it is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. The implementation of the new BRT system was done, in part, to cut carbon emissions, reclaim space for people and reduce traffic congestion.

The Guangzhou BRT system opened in February 2010 and was designed to now be completely integrated with the city’s new bike share network and metro system.