MissinOhio

Maybe this could go here? Anyway, it just shows how far behind Ohio is in the urban turnaround. Not good numbers, and Cleveland seems incredibly sad. Cincinnati is really no better. These numbers were put together over on SSC. 2015 Value of Residential Construction/Square Mile Minneapolis - $5,333,438 Chicago - $4,690,000 Madison - $2,930,838 St. Paul - $2,495,196 Omaha - $2,348,383 Columbus - $2,314,646 Grand Rapids - $1,843,570 Des Moines - $1,537,600 Indianapolis - $1,432,471 St. Louis - $1,324,928 Kansas City - $1,195,363 Milwaukee - $625,402 Detroit - $557,390 Cincinnati - $365,739 Cleveland - $95,840 Absolute numbers: Chicago - $1,097,463,084 Indianapolis - $532,879,326 Columbus - $516,166,220 Kansas City - $381,320,851 Minneapolis - $311,472,756 Omaha - $307,638,270 Madison - $275,498,784 Des Moines - $139,921,675 St. Paul - $139,731,023 St. Louis - $87,445,221 Grand Rapids - $83,421,579 Detroit - $79,706,725 Milwaukee - $60,538,984 Cincinnati - $29,076,251 Cleveland - $7,906,804

What's interesting to me is Ohio's and Cleveland's relative consistency in raising equity over the years compared to the radical ups and downs in other jurisdictions. It speaks well for the long-term effort. I am not sure about that. While the other big players in the region have seen their investment grow significantly since the Q1 of 2012 to Q1 2016, Cleveland and Ohio have seen investment either barely grow or decline. Not good.

I just drove in from Youngstown. I was using UO to get updates on traffic. I wanted to use the Rapid, but that wasn't going to happen. So I decided I would park in a residential area in Asiatown, again, no luck. Im on E 45th walking to downtown now. Crazy!

Someone from Cincinnati is getting on Canton's case for building something they think is over the top for the city, but the riverfront in Cincinnati is filled with some or the worst architecture I have seen for a new build in a prominent area anywhere in the country. If people should be skeptical a smaller city like Canton could support this, same could be said for Cincinnati. Canton is not Flint, Michigan. There are a lot of things going for it and it's been relatively stable. "Worst roads in the country." Ha! Get out a little more. I wasn't exactly impressed with the road quality in Cincy, either.

Really? when did they ever look good ?The first week? lol They are on pace for 109 losses!!!!! You're right, they suck. I just wanted to put emphasis on how bad of a season it was. I'm glad you get a good laugh out of it.

Reds now have the third worst record in all of baseball. Not looking like a good year for them.

Well considering Ohio is further east, is one of the 10 most densely populated states, and has about 11.6 million to Iowa's 3.1 million, you may notice a difference. I know what you are talking about, though. When I was in Illinois and Missouri, some of the towns which didn't really seem that large, had a very big impact much further out than a similar sized town in Ohio would have. Because Ohio has several good sized metro areas around the state, one doesn't really have to go far to find what you're looking for. This state has to be one of the more balance in terms of population distribution in the country. I always compared Ohio to Florida in this regard. Not having to travel far between larger metro areas, with several smaller 250,000-1,000,000 metro areas in between.

Strangely enough, I did, too.

I have always been intrigued with OKC and Oklahoma in general. I think generally the state gets too much of a bad reputation and most of it is not warranted, but some of it is. OKC and Tulsa have a great collection of art deco (more so Tulsa), there are beautiful green and heavily wooded areas in the eastern part of the state; it's not all brown flat plains as far as the eye can see. When it comes to Columbus, they have architecture OKC could only dream of. Not to mention Columbus' infill has been far more attractive IMO versus what I have seen on my two visits to OKC. The vibrancy in the neighborhoods is a stark contrast as well, with Columbus offering much more. I think OKC is just underwhelming for the size of the city and metro. Devon Tower is a very nice addition to a somewhat uninspiring skyline, but it sticks out too much. With that, hopefully the growth in Oklahoma City leads to much more investment in its urban fabric because it's far behind most of its peers.

That seemed kinda out of the blue. I disagree with most of what you say. The grass is always greener on the other side. People complain about the roads in Cincinnati all the time, but I really don't have much of a problem. The only time I have a problem is when I'm going through a construction site. Which is expected. And Cincinnati is building a lot downtown lately and adding a lot of jobs. Other states have much higher taxes (Pennsylvania and Illinois come to mind). And if you leave Indianapolis and venture out to Ft. Wayne, Evansville, or Lafayette, Indiana isn't all peaches and cream. Kentucky and West Virginia are messes with unemployment and drug addiction, and Michigan has huge infrastructure problems (unfunded highways, Flint water crisis, Detroit's massive vacant housing issue). How was it out of the blue? Read the post before that; it went along with what was being mentioned. What all is Cincinnati doing downtown? I am curious really. It didn't seem like a lot was happening when I was there in October... GE to The Banks seems like the biggest deal. Even following the SW section here, it seems like it has really slowed down in the last year or two. Cleveland seems to be the leader in downtown development in Ohio at the current moment. Read up on the water crisis in Sebring, Ohio or the Lake Erie algae blooms. Ohio isn't "peaches and cream", either. Ever notice how Indiana's smaller cities and towns have much better intact downtown districts? For all the comparisons made between Indy and Columbus, I certainly think Columbus could learn a few things from Indy. It wasn't out of the blue. I work for one of the county landbanks here in Ohio and I see the issues on a daily basis. Trust me, I know the grass is not greener. I moved out of state once and came back to Ohio because I realized it was better here. But I also realize many states are doing far better than Ohio, and they are right in our own backyard. Ohio needs some serious policy changes, and it needs to start with our urban areas. I am just being matter-of-fact, and I will not sugarcoat the issues Ohio is facing.

Ohio has the worst quality of life in the Midwest, and is quickly becoming one of the worst in the US. We are a high tax state with minimal income growth, horrible infrastructure (we all know it's a nationwide problem, but Ohio's compared to other competitor states is bad) a polluted environment, and no economic growth. Not to mention a rising poverty rate and an overall population that is not satisfied with their quality or life (Ohio ranked 47th I believe for where people were happy) For a state that spends absolutely no money on other forms of transportation our roads are atrocious. Cedar Road in Cleveland for such a high traffic count is doing nothing but destroying your car. It's not just Cleveland, but Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Youngstown, Akron, Dayton, the entire state is suffering. I travel to other states and I see what they are doing and it amazes me how Ohio just can't keep up. I was in Indiana last week and was so surprised by how well kept the pavement was on residential streets compared to most areas in Ohio. Things just seemed cleaner and much more well kept. I live on the PA border and it's like night and day between how things are run, and in the last couple years you can tell where citizens are doing better and where they are hurting. I am sure others here have noticed how much better other states are doing, too. Ohio isn't really going anywhere, and it's great to champion the little urban growth that is happening in Ohio's cities, but it pales in comparison to other states' urban growth. Milwaukee is booming and is actually building highrises, not just talking about them like in Cleveland. Even little Iowa has impressive urban growth. Maybe someday Ohio can champion the state's comebacks, but it won't be happening anytime soon. Meanwhile, the governor runs for a presidential bid he has no chance at winning.

So KJP, I have a question. Your article on Cleveland's RTA shutdown has received some attention over on SSC (a pretty dead forum, but pretty interesting nonetheless) especially Milwaukee's streetcar thread: Don't know if I should post links to other forums, so I will refrain from doing so. I haven't had time to sit down and read the article like I would like to, but are we essentially looking at Cleveland shutting down all of the lines RTA serves outside of the red line? If so, this is truly sad. Cleveland is the reason I fell in love with cities and urban developments. I remember being little, my aunt worked in 55 Public Square, and I would look down on Public Square, and seeing the area teem with life, I knew then that cities is where I wanted to be. Now this is a site for Cleveland and Ohio boosters, but let's be honest, Cleveland's development is not extremely impressive these days when looking at other cities. Downtown still has a ways to go, and other areas of the city are left to rot and decay. I am quickly giving up on Cleveland, and it's a shame, but I can't wait for the city to figure out how it will make itself more livable, fight the crime, and take advantage of its assets that so many other cities could only dream of. Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and even Detroit are working on developments that are far more impressive than what is happening in Cleveland, and they are actually under construction. That believe it when I see mentality is alive and well in Cleveland. I don't want to sound like a .com poster, I am still a huge booster of Cleveland, but I am really getting tired of the city not taking the steps necessary to stop its fast decline. Cleveland's light/heavy rail was something that the city could proudly promote, especially over other cities that lacked rail lines (only one in Ohio). To know that it could possibly be reduced to one main line is so disappointing. It seems like other cities are putting smart development forward, while Cleveland takes steps back. The city doesn't seem in touch with what the younger crowds want. Even Sunbelt cities are thinking smarter than Cleveland these days. So KJP, do you see this rail shutdown as most likely happening?

3 homicides in Cleveland so far this year

Or Campus Martius in Detroit... I am not impressed with Fountain Square. Campus Martius is a much better example I would like to see for Public Square. More open and better public interaction with the space.

Is this new student housing planned to be on the other side of the book store on Lincoln Avenue across from Jones Hall? There was a beautiful old church that sat there, and they tore that down and planted grass. I would be happy to see this go in that location which will be improved greatly once they start doing the streetscaping on Wick and Lincoln avenues.

I am from the Youngstown area (Columbiana County). I honestly feel like we don't fit in at all with the majority of Ohio. If it wasn't for this site, I would completely forget about what is happening in places like SW Ohio because it just isn't on my radar. My dream is for NE Ohio to break off and become its own state one day because it is quite different from Ohio's other regions, but it's just a dream :-D. The Youngstown-Warren metro has well over 560,000 residents and over 700,000 counting Mercer in Pennsylvania. Both sides of my family come from Western Pennsylvania, and you will find a lot of people in this area that trace their roots back to Central and Western parts of the state. I feel a stronger connection with Cleveland just because I prefer Cleveland's diversity and offerings over Pittsburgh's. I feel like Clevelander's appreciate Pittsburgh far better than Pittsburgher's treat Cleveland, and you see it a lot on these urban sites. No way in hell Pittsburgh is that much more superior like many Pittsburgh residents would have you believe, just like Pittsburgh isn't some backwater metro area of West Virginia like some Clevelanders would have you believe. ohpenn put it well, not only did Pittsburgh lose its manufacturing base in the 70s, but the steel industry collapsed in the 80s. Pittsburgh was essentially Detroit of the 80s. I feel no two cities fell as hard as Pittsburgh and Detroit. Pittsburgh really turned to its universities and diversifying its economy in the late 80s and early 90s. Since then, the turnaround has been impressive, but there is still a lot of work to do in some very downtrodden river areas that are just downright depressing. Cleveland has massive surface lots in the Warehouse District, but Pittsburgh has massive surface lots on the South Shore, Strip District, and North Shore. Their tight little downtown where the three rivers meet isn't without its scars. Just like Cleveland, there are plans to build on those lots, but we will see. Both cities have impressive institutions that are major drivers in their respective economies. Being from the Mahoning Valley, I saw both sides of the Cleveland/Pittsburgh rivalry and admittedly never fully understood it because I am from neither, but I feel like there are very few areas in the country that can make such a drastic comeback as this region. Just looking at how well connected it already is (the region in night time aerials, an impressive Cleveburgh corridor exists). We are at the border where the NE meets the Midwest, and right between New York and Chicago. It really is in my opinion, the most underrated region of the country in terms of cost of living, quality of living, and the abundance of resources we have. Pittsburgh's development is impressive, but unlike a lot of Pittsburgh posters elsewhere would ever dare to say, Cleveland's are just as equally impressive.

The Browns have been such a bad image for a city that already has such a bad image. I agree with the one article posted earlier, get them out of Cleveland if it means a developed lakefront and possibly a better image for the city. I was recently in Milwaukee and was blown away by the amount of construction cranes around downtown and how perfect their lakefront seemed, or at least compared to Cleveland's mistake of a lakefront. It is sad that an organization like the Browns has sucked money out of America's poorest city to support renovation's to one of the most mediocre stadiums in the NFL. See ya, Browns!

I am a big fan of the quality infill Columbus has been building across the city.

Uh, ok... Nothing to do with Cleveland

I am really hoping Youngstown starts to grow closer ties with Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is going somewhere, and many people in this area either trace their roots to Western PA , work in Pittsburgh, or visit Pittsburgh frequently. I see more growth in Youngstown with stronger ties to Pittsburgh versus Cleveland, which is still struggling itself to figure out where it's future economy is going.

So I heard that Wick Tower is going to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, and I read last week that Strollo plans to open up their offices in the Wells building before the end of the year. The parking lot has been tore up and heavy equipment has been working on site prep at YSU's newest student housing between 5th Avenue and Charlie Staples

I don't mean to pick on you. I'm always amazed when I hear statements like "Cleveland needs to get its act together" as if Cleveland is a monolithic entity that, in its entirety is even remotely capable of "getting its act together" or whatever that means. cities are loose collections of millions of people all doing different things. Within cities are people doing amazing things, people sitting on the couch doing nothing, and people blowing each others heads off. No city in a free society is an exception to that. No, you're right. Everything is just fine in Cleveland.

One of Cleveland's deadliest years in a decade: http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2015/09/rising_homicides_unplowed_runw.html 20 homicides in one month! Cleveland needs to get its act together.

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, surface lots and prime lakefront sit another year with nothing happening and Cincinnati's riverfront has The Banks which look like they belong in Mason. Ohio's cities are so far behind in the renaissance of old Great Lakes/NE cities. Looks like some great stuff in happening in Baltimore.

Cleveland is putting too much emphasis on one event like the GOP Convention. It's kind of sad really.