Year: 2013

Categories
Up To Speed

Can good design of our communities make us happier?

Can good design of our communities make us happier?.

There is enough literature available now to know that the way we shape and build our communities has a strong impact on our individual and collective happiness. Why some communities continue to ignore these core human principles is beyond me, but if we can build places based on the fundamental knowledge we already have, then we can build better places for human interaction and happiness. More from Better! Cities & Towns:

The way we design our communities plays a huge role in how we experience our lives. Neighborhoods built without sidewalks, for instance, mean that people walk less and therefore enjoy fewer spontaneous encounters, which is what instills a spirit of community to a place…You don’t have to be a therapist to realize that this creates lasting psychological effects. It thwarts the connections between people that encourage us to congregate, cooperate, and work for the common good. We retreat into ever more privatized existences.

Groupings of four to twelve households make an ideal community “where meaningful ‘neighborly’ relationships are fostered.” But even here, design shapes our destiny. Chapin explains that strong connections between neighbors develop most fully and organically when everyone shares some “common ground.” That can be a semi-public space, as in the pocket neighborhoods Chapin designs in the Seattle area.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

PHOTOS: Over-the-Rhine Impresses More Than 30,000 Spectators for LumenoCity

In welcoming Louis Langrée, the new music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Over-the-Rhine hosted LumenoCity, a community-wide celebration which encompassed all five of Music Hall’s fine arts groups as well as the building itself. Performances included the Cincinnati Pops, Ballet, Opera, May Festival Chorus, and of course, the Symphony.

The ensemble was complimented by a light show that used the façade of Music Hall as a canvas. Projections synchronized with 40 minutes of live music, with song selections ranging from Tchaikovsky and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 to Broadway hits including selections from Les Miserables and Hairspray.

An estimated 15,000 spectators gathered at Washington Park Saturday night, and another 18,000 on Sunday, to witness this first-ever light and orchestra music spectacular.

“Five years ago, something like this never would have happened in Washington Park,” mentioned Edith Fairgrove, who was visiting from West Chester Township. “The area [Over-the-Rhine] has changed so much in such little time.”

A few seats away, Devon Marshall had traveled from Price Hill with his family to see the show both Saturday and Sunday. Each day, they parked at Union Terminal then took the free shuttle to Washington Park. Despite there being long lines for the shuttle after the show, Marshall appreciated the service.

“If Cincinnati keeps having events like this, we’re going to need that streetcar to help get people around,” he grinned.

With over 30,000 people in attendance this weekend, LumenoCity became the largest gathering in Washington Park, dwarfing the sizeable turnout for last year’s World Choir Games performances. As Over-the-Rhine’s revival continues to succeed, Cincinnatians look on with wonder as to how the historic neighborhood will impress them next.

Paige Malott and John Yung contributed photographs for this story.

Categories
Up To Speed

CitiBank’s investment in New York City’s bikeshare is paying off

CitiBank’s investment in New York City’s bikeshare is paying off.

Columbus launched Ohio’s first bikeshare this week. Cincinnati, meanwhile, continues to work on developing its own bikeshare system. While the movement starts takes root in the Buckeye State, New York City’s new CitiBike system has been seen as a massive success. This has not only been for those using the system, but also for CitiBank as it has been looking for a way to rebuild its brand identity following the financial crisis years ago. More from The Daily Beast:

In recent months one bailed-out, much-hated bank has found salvation through an unorthodox, low-affect marketing method. We’re talking, of course, about Citi’s sponsorship of the wildly popular, just-launched New York City bikesharing program—Citibike…Instead of forcing people to watch another soporific spot before guffawing at that clip of The Daily Show online, or getting lost in the hundreds of ads disrupting people trying to watch The Voice, Citibike offers a rolling testimonial to the brand. Every day, about 25,000 times, someone saddles up on a Citibike, which has the company’s name plastered on it prominently, and rides around Manhattan or Brooklyn, usually with a smile on her face.

Categories
Month in Review

Month in Review – July 2013

Mayor Mallory Addresses the Crowd

This month, UrbanCincy covered new developments in the Central Business District, Over-the-Rhine, and Evanston. Contributor  looked at how the city’s parking modernization plan relates to similar programs in other cities. We also released two new podcast episodes, discussing Cincinnati’s transportation history and the role of craft beer in our city, and posted a video of contributor Jake Mecklenborg’s bike ride from Cincinnati to Columbus.

Our  top 5 most popular stories for July 2013 were:

    1. Cincinnati To Grow Taller in the Coming Years
      Cincinnati is now poised to add 15 towers to its collection this decade, putting it dead even with how many the city added in the 1970s. Since many of these will be completed within the first half of this decade, it may be safe to assume that the city will add even more by decade’s end and approach the 1980s rate of tower construction.
    2. Industry Experts Believe a ‘Parking Revolution’ is Sweeping America
      Cincinnati’s recently approved Parking Modernization & Lease Program appears to apply these top trends by moving toward technologies that improve access control, payment automation, and real-time communication of pricing and availability to user’s mobile devices.
    3. Grandin Properties Completes $1.6M Renovation of 135-Year-Old Hummel Building
      The Hummel Building is the second of seven projects to be completed during the fifth phase of 3DCDC’s redevelopment work in Over-the-Rhine. The building is now home to a 1,900 square-foot restaurant space and four condominiums priced from $270,000 to $375,000, is also the first Over-the-Rhine project for Grandin Properties.
    4. Demolition of Evanston’s Long-Troubled St. Leger Place Begins
      The apartment building known as St. Leger was built in 1905 and is situated at the intersection of Gilbert Avenue and St. Leger Place. The building has long been known as a problem property in the city, but is now being redeveloped by The Model Group.
    5. Promise of Streetcar Driving Occupancy Rates at Hanke Exchange
      The owners of The Hanke Exchange – a collection of five buildings in Over-the-Rhine between Reading Road and Michael Bany Way – have announced that Teach for America will open their Cincinnati office at the Jupiter Building at 1110 Main Street.

 

Categories
Up To Speed

Better Streets are Better Public Places

Better Streets are Better Public Places

As many communities start to require a complete streets approach to roadway planning it is important for cities such as Cincinnati to remember the elements of good street planning or face the consequences of the STROAD. Kaid Benfield highlights the ingredients to creating a great pedestrian friendly street that serves as a place to visit instead of a way to pass through. Read more at the NRDC Switchboard:

But, when I say that a street is not just a “street,” I mean that it is not just a surface for motorized travel.  It is also the sidewalk, the curb, the trees and “street furniture” that line it; the facings of the shops, homes, and other buildings and uses along the way.  It is not just about transportation, but also about civic definition and social and commercial interaction.  It is a system, at a minimum, and should at least aspire to becoming a place, as Victor asserts.