Weedrose

In my mind, the Streetcar would be operated by Metro or some new organization that would coordinate bus and streetcar routes.

Even better to see some of that space used for large scale family entertainment like bowling alley/pizza. But about Sully's was the place considered a good bar, it was a sports bar right so was it the place o really watch a game. I went there 2 or 3 times and it didn't seem that hot to me.

In China these stores are the norm. I don't know the development models but I wonder how much it costs to put these stores in and what type of density requirement we're looking at. Ram23 to answer your question from my China/Europe experience (mostly China) the carts are usually smaller and people don't carry as much because they tend to frequent the stores more often. In the Carrefour's, Trust Marts, Park n' Shop and E-Marts I've been to you move from level to level through a series of magnetized conveyor belts (think of what you usually see in an airport but magnetized to keep the carts from moving. When you leave the store typically parking is underneath or underneath and to the side. Of course in areas without large scale public transport, parking takes up a huge portion of the site but except for Wal-Mart very few companies ever place parking in large surface lots. However, Wal-Mart remains Wal-Mart.

Hi All, I've lived in China for the past year but I've been off and on here for the past 2, so if anyone comes here to visit and needs some pointers specifically if they are coming to the Guangzhou/Hong Kong area just give me a shout.

Well, let's ask ourselves very simple questions like "when we think about what america visually represents and how we place ourselves in it, what does it look like". Who are your friends? Do you have 1 black friend, 1 white friend, an Asian buddy you hang with on the weekends and a fashionable gay guy that helps you shop? Is your connection with people who don't look like you real or is it merely surface deep. Do you understand the struggles, temptations, passions of others or are you ignorant of your "friend's" experiences. See, the problem that I have with alot of talk concerning America and it's cities comes from people who won't allow others to be real around themselves and who don't make much effort to build real relationships with people who don't look like them. My point being that America is what it wants to be - a country of a lot of different groups who very rarely know each other. That, given some exceptions, is a fact.

BlauBaum, I understand your reaction to my comment. Perfectly fine. However, the Banks as a project isn't what I was describing but the buildings on the site. I separate these for a reason, for a long time we had nothing that could ever be built on that site so here are two issues going on here that are obviously important to discuss. The first is the foundation and it's solid development, th second are the collection of buildings which will be apart of the site. If the site is developed it can be built out if something doesn't work but without the right foundation design the other pieces don't really matter. But of course, I favor a good design on the site, given that the base, the foundation is well taken care of. Does anyone know about flood control and other site issues regarding the plan?

When did Avondale become the 4th largest? I thought it was #2 after Westwood.

When you go to the top of Victoria's Peak there are periscopes that you can use to look into some of those apts. Alot of them are very very nice many priced in the $10 - $15,000 per month range. And that's not a typo. But anyway, everything in the Cincinnati area competes against everything else. Look, the region has no leadership, no central core that people stand up to attention for. All there is is a cycle of cannibalization. The problem with everything here is that really we all shouldn't be talking about a streetcar, or light rail or whatever. The real issue is that we don't have centralized govt. Cincinnati is 70+sq miles with about 330,000+ in population but it's in a region of 2mm+ so that obviously in my eyes at least points to a much bigger problem. That being said Mason still sucks.

Really, my primary concern is that they lay a good foundation because let's face it the buildings aren't probably going to be there for a 100 years. Lay a good foundation and in another 25 years the site can be reinvented. But that's a topic for another day.

Also, does anyone know how much money the pro-streetcar side of things has raised versus the anti-streetcar one. And how's voter registration going for this especially in the black neighborhoods in the city like Bond Hill and Roselawn (traditionally high voter turnout areas).

I live in China. I'll be absenteeing my support for this but laying off the police just gave every interest group against the streetcar ammunition so unless there's a massive ground game to get this done, I see a narrow failure. This isn't a cerebral argument anymore, it actually never was, it's an emotional one. You sell this as "Cincinnati will be exciting with this" "Cincinnati has a bright future with this" "Cincinnati is on the move" but when the headlines read "### Police Officer Fired" or whatever crap that's going to be said about this, you've already loss the audience. Unless you can get massive flooding on the westside during the election, kaput.

I would love to see the City, Downtown Cincinnati add a strong company. Downtown should try to focus its attention on grabbing those small companies that feel more compelled to go to the suburbs

The numbers just wouldn't work. I've asked my friend who's an analyst at Macy's and right now there is just no way.

Well hopefully we don't take too much from the Great Depression, remember that little project called the Subway.

What community? I mean lets be honest here.

The main thing is that cities have to identify groups that experience severe problems whether that's blacks, hispanics, islamic populations, or south asian communities for example and create goals to change those problems. There's realy a gross disparity in access and accomplishment for a good portion of all of Ohio's key 6 - Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo, and Akron. So the thing I look at is for all of the cities that we've identified, how is all of this new development that's going on effecting (or will effect) the groups that suffering from bouts with instability. If I'm a 15 year old kid from OTR who spent my entire life in OTR how will the Banks, the new OTR, and the UC developments effect me for example. How much participation do I get in this change? Well I digress just a little but anyway: Do you guys think that the new development going up will attract a pretty diverse group that will promote some mixing? I mean this thread is titled "Ohio and its cities need to turn it around" and I think part of the issue is that Ohio is stuck with its demographics and unlike some of the newer cities in the western states its identity still has to confront its demographics so when we talk about turning around I think it has to start with this development related question.

Streetcars are slow, light rail is better for certain stretches in non dense environments, heavy rail does a better job at getting people place to place quickly.

I think it has and for the majority of the population that lives there there number 1 priority probably isn't excitement. To be fair that wouldn't rank in the top 5 for most people. My priorities for a city in the US would go something like diversity, economic opportunities, infrastructure development, solid and diverse schools etc. I wonder how many people in Ohio would say anything similar aside from economic opportunities.

^Panhandling doesn't pull you down when you've got other things like enjoying the great atmosphere of a neighborhood, to do. My favorites though are people who do creative things like art and music on the street. Street performers really add lifeblood to a neighborhood.

I would love to see something like Xintiandi down on the river. Akin to nestling a little bit of hyde park square but made cooler with the addition of the park that has yet to be built.

I hope it does. I've also felt that it'd be great to have some of the COB downtown as well, maybe exec ed, goering etc.

^I agree somewhat. There are some very nice monuments and museums that showcase the strength of the state from the 19th to the mid 20th century. There are also pockets that showcase some nice things that cities within the state have done more recently like Hadid and the Vontz in Cincinnati. However, I've seen alot of really interesting cities and while the past is great it has to be balanced with a strong sense of future potential. Character evolves, no? You throw in the past, add the present, and then forecast for the future and that my friend helps define the character of a place. Overall, I like my hometown Cincinnati and in particular my own neighborhood Avondale with its f'd up parts and all but... the pace of change in places like Cincinnati is just a little too slow for me right now. I want a little more then the place is giving me (I want the draws but she's only giving me the skirt). So therapeutically I'm doing just that.

I live and work in Shanghai now after relocating from Cincinnati and although I harbor a slight dislike for Beijing, there was a pretty good article by a Canadian columnist recently that merits some reading. By the way, Shanghai is building about 200 more new stations and will have 18 lines within the next 15 years. By 2010 it will have more than 500 km of line. FROM: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=b81c1a0a-09a7-4efa-84a0-476f352e1543 MacMurchy column: China's building a future while Canadians bicker Cam MacMurchy Times Colonist Sunday, September 21, 2008 BEIJING- Another phase of Beijing's new Sanlitun Village, the premier entertainment district in the city, opened last week. There are plans for more upscale restaurants and bars from around the world as the infusion of western amenities shows no signs of slowing. Beijing is also set to open several new subway lines, the most important of which will link the city to its new train station in the south. And it was just announced that a new bullet train will be built linking Beijing and Shanghai, allowing people to make the trip in only four hours. Obviously none of this is being done in anticipation of hordes of Olympic visitors. It's China continuing to do what it's been doing for 20 years -- progress at breakneck speed. .........

Doesn't really matter the simple truth is that the reason why Ohio is the way it is is (I am in love with the "is" tonight) because you are concentrating thought patters about what a city should be as people who offer differing viewpoints move. I, like many of you have travelled to many different countries and overwhelmingly the feeling that I have is that for the majority of talented people that I know Ohio would be an incredibly tough sale. The collection of assets it has are okay but more than most are hallmarks of the past. Ohio is a perfect example of promise that hasn't lived up to expectations. Nice but definitely missing in the world class dept.

Wow that storm must've been incredibly powerful. (I'm half a world a way right now)