MissinOhio

Pittsburgh is growing according to estimates. Putting Cleveland and Pittsburgh in the same sentence as Detroit doesn't make sense. One thing that helps Pittsburgh, like Cincinnati, the topography hides a lot of the nasty rotting buildings. Throughout a lot of Pittsburgh, it is like driving through Appalachian towns. Being in the Golden Triangle and North Shore looks great, but get away from all that. There is nothing like driving out of the Fort Pitt Tunnel, and Mount Washington is great! But Pittsburgh gets so over hyped, I have a feeling it will be one of those places where things will build up so quickly it will leave a lot disappointed.

Healthcare in a way, yes. Pittsburgh is more into robotics and technology, Cleveland more healthcare and bio technology. Pittsburgh gets a lot of attention because certain people have let it be known what Pittsburgh has done, Cleveland has not had the luxury. Pittsburgh's turnaround started before Cleveland's (about 5-10 years). Although Cleveland I think has caught up and are within a couple years of where Pittsburgh was. Cleveland needs to let it be known what they have done and what they offer, because in my honest opinion, Cleveland has an edge on Pittsburgh in most categories. Also, I think you are forgetting that Cleveland is home to Case. Columbus can lay claim to OSU which brings in a large student population, but Case is an awesome research school that really flies under the radar and is probably the state's most prestigious school.

Columbus' incorporated city limits size 1910-2010. 1910: 23 1930: 38 1950: 40 1960: 91 1970: 144 1990: 196 2010: 217 In 1950, Columbus had a much smaller size than Cleveland or Cincinnati. There's no reason to expect that the population would be significant in that small of an area. Umm, let's see, Columbus is still declining, and according to your numbers, in 2010 barely had a population larger than Akron. I made the observation from YOUR numbers that Columbus is still declining and didn't have an impressive core population.

Doesn't a lot of it come down to rent and raising the overall average of rent across the board to bring more projects online? If the current rates stay the same, isn't it harder for developers to come in and start construction.... I have always wondered with the demand to live in the CBD, why aren't the buildings in the financial district that sit empty be turned into residential. The demand is there, but there are other factors that have come into play halting a lot of new projects.

Wow, Columbus' core is not near as impressive as I thought it would be. Barely larger than Akron. What's the land area (if anyone knows) of Columbus' "core".

^ Columbus has nothing to learn from Pittsburgh because Columbus is a newer, younger city. Cleveland has nothing in common with Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati has similar topography, but that's about it. I grew up, and have all my family on both sides are from Western Pennsylvania (dad from Pittsburgh... Mount Lebanon and my mom is from Somerset). I have no desire, and would hope that NE Ohio doesn't take any note from Western Pennsylvania, more specifically Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Damn Yinzers. I am half sarcastic and half serious. In the Youngstown area it is either Cleveland or Pittsburgh. Good for Pittsburgh's new changes, but I am more excited where Cleveland is headed. Although, this proves what I have been saying on here, Cleveland's economy is not as good as everyone praises it to be. Income is going no where but down, and so are housing prices. Cleveland is still falling and has yet to hit rock bottom. Pittsburgh, Pennsyltucky

Is that not true in Cbus? (Or Cleveland?) Did I say it wasn't? Must have missed that one. I used Cincinnati as an example.

I have put that into account, but most murders seem to happen in a certain section of town (the east side I believe). Probably not a surprise to most, I just didn't think Columbus had so many murders/violent crimes. Its core city is no different than the others. High crime, and high population loss. The size of the city somewhat skews the data which makes things look better for Columbus. Not really if you understand how crime rates work. They don't particularly favor anyone. In Cincinnati is seems like crime favors african american males. Say Cincy has 70 murders, I believe a majority of them are african american males, something like 65 of those murders.

Impressive.

I have put that into account, but most murders seem to happen in a certain section of town (the east side I believe). Probably not a surprise to most, I just didn't think Columbus had so many murders/violent crimes.

I like how mature the trees in the section by the river. They really give it a vibe that they have been there for a few years.

These designs do not look half bad, but when I lived in Fenn and walked to go to class everyday and looked across the street to Euclid Commons and saw siding I would cringe. Are these going to be brick?

Detroit is a poor comparison. First, Detroit turned to gambling out of despertion; it's downtown was tremendously weak and losing revenue across the river (and national boundary) to Windsor, ONT, which has had gambling for decades. Downtown Cleveland, even before the casino, is considerably stronger, more vibrant and more versitle than downtown Detroit (look no farther than downtown Cleveland's 10,000+ residence and 98% occupancy rate)...Secondly, consider the location and access to the casinos... Dan Gilbert correctly commented that Detroit's casino's, the exception of the smaller Greektown Casino + hotel, are at the fringes of downtown Detroit -- too far to impact the improving, but still struggling downtown Detroit. Cleveland's Horseshoe, as it's been pointed out many times, is at the core of downtown, with superior infastructure: the casino will be built into a gigantic multi-use/air-rights complex connected to rail transit (the hub and direct connection to the airport via the Red line), 2 hotels, a huge shopping mall, an 11-screen movie theatre, an NBA basketball arena and an MLB baseball stadium... not to mention over 2 Million sq. ft. of office space -- all essentially under 1 roof. No casino, to date, will have these advantages... So Detroit's situation is not really comparable to Cleveland's at all. Great post! I am not here to list the advantages that downtown Cleveland has over Detroit or Pittsburgh, but I know the casino has made it a point to let everyone know of the great districts and entertainment options downtown Cleveland has to offer whether it be Playhouse Square, the Warehouse, etc. The casino is my least favorite development happening right now in Cleveland and that doesn't mean I hate it, but I feel there are other projects going on that will affect the city more positively than some casino. It looks great though, and can't wait to be up there when it is open.

This webcam is pretty cool, and you get to see three projects in one essentially, but I have a few questions: http://www.earthcam.com/client/HiltonColumbusDowntown/ 1. How tall is this garage expansion suppose to be? I would imagine being a visitor to the new hotel, the view would be obstructed by the new higher garage. Also, is there any new greenspace planned for the spot in front of the garage behind the hotel? 2. The new Nationwide building looks good from the little bit that you can see. It has expanded more towards High Street than I thought it would. Isn't greenspace planned for the section between the building and High Street?

On the focus of Columbus crime, I read the Dispatch daily on my phone; what is Columbus' average murder rate per year? They are already at 30 this year, which seems extremely high. Columbus is much more dangerous than I though.

West of Coventry? How big is that area roughly? That's a lot more people than I thought would live in the area. But I am thinking in a small area between Coventry and Little Italy.

I'm not going to lie, as much as I hate Kasich for destroying the 3C and almost Cincy's streetcar, I can't always hate the guy. He has done a lot, and there is certainly a new vibe here in the Mahoning Valley (and it all isn't revolving around the shale industry either). Kasich is just doing what he said he would in his campaign, nothing we didn't know, and the voters gave him his new office in the statehouse. So on that note, I approve most of Kasich's job so far.

Great thread! Charleston is certainly an underrated capital city. I have family in the suburb of Hurricane and my aunt works in one of the buildings along the riverfront park there. That mall certainly adds a vibe to the rest of the area. The "new" performing arts center is really nice as well.

More signage on Cleveland's buildings?! When did the Huntington Building or whatever it's called get the signage on it?

Really cool perspectives, especially the shots of the skyline. Nice views! Your photo threads seem pretty cool, and what I have seen of your Detroit threads seem much worse than this. Cleveland's blight isn't nearly as bad as Detroit's, but still very cool to look at. How are you able to get into all these buildings?

I couldn't believe it when I read it this morning. I saw it on my phone and read the title and figured it would be a bashfest. I was wrong.

Columbus is not near as healthy as everyone makes it out to be. That's why I make mention, if Cleveland could annex, its population numbers would speak of a "healthier" city to most, or at least look that way. Cleveland is a different city today than it was even in the early 2000s, but Cleveland is still suffering more than most Midwest cities. I don't understand how places like Milwaukee can take advantage of so much, while Cleveland sits on its hands and waits to see what will happen.

Cleveland actually isn't stabilizing, it is just filling in the "doughnut hole" more than it has, or at least more than the 90s when the city was all about building stadiums. Cleveland, percentage wise (not raw numbers), lost more people last decade than it ever has besides the complete collapse of the 70s. The east side is very empty and gives off a very Detroit vibe. The west side still has a lot of work to do, and Ohio City and Detroit-Shoreway are only seeing the first signs of gentrification and urban renewal. You can go a few blocks away from the hot spots, and you run into some bad looking or decayed areas. Cleveland needs to go on a fullscale development scheme and stop putting such a huge focus on downtown where everyone is raving about casinos and new conventions centers. I am really happy where Cleveland is going, and Cleveland is the reason I fell in love with cities. I ended up going to Cleveland State and majoring in urban studies. But I will not hide the fact that Cleveland has more issues than any other major city besides Detroit, and focusing attention on all neighborhoods of the city is extremely important. I did a lot of volunteer work for the Famicos Foundation, and we did a lot of work on the east side.... Cleveland never gives that side of town any attention. In short, Cleveland's neighborhoods, even the healthy ones, are only just now seeing signs of rebirth and have a long way to go, which means overall, Cleveland has a long way to go before it even stabilizes. Can you provide some links or proven data regarding Cleveland's only in better shape compared to Detroit? You sound like a writer from Forbes. Do you still in Cleveland? How the hell do I sound like a writer from forbes? I am not going to paint some rosey picture for Cleveland when it's far from it. I never said it was so miserable I had to leave the city as soon as I started college. Look up the stats, Cleveland still has housing prices lower than any other Midwest city back to pre 2000 levels (even Detroit has seen huge growth spurts). Cleveland is not gaining new jobs, it's population is declining faster than an other city besides Detroit, and there are huge swaths of abandonment that you don't see in other cities outside of Detroit minus St. Louis' north side. You can sit there and lie and say Cleveland is healthy, or you can throw out constructive criticism. I still find it interesting that you make me out to be a "forbes" writer. If that's what you get from my one post, that's pretty sad on your end and I don't even want to know how you hand the majority of NE Ohio and metro Cleveland's reaction to how they view the city. What I said wasn't even negative at all, it's called being a realist.

So you're saying Columbus has them, but I just named plenty of other cities that offer them as well. And at the same point, Columbus is much smaller in land area and more dense.

Cleveland actually isn't stabilizing, it is just filling in the "doughnut hole" more than it has, or at least more than the 90s when the city was all about building stadiums. Cleveland, percentage wise (not raw numbers), lost more people last decade than it ever has besides the complete collapse of the 70s. The east side is very empty and gives off a very Detroit vibe. The west side still has a lot of work to do, and Ohio City and Detroit-Shoreway are only seeing the first signs of gentrification and urban renewal. You can go a few blocks away from the hot spots, and you run into some bad looking or decayed areas. Cleveland needs to go on a fullscale development scheme and stop putting such a huge focus on downtown where everyone is raving about casinos and new conventions centers. I am really happy where Cleveland is going, and Cleveland is the reason I fell in love with cities. I ended up going to Cleveland State and majoring in urban studies. But I will not hide the fact that Cleveland has more issues than any other major city besides Detroit, and focusing attention on all neighborhoods of the city is extremely important. I did a lot of volunteer work for the Famicos Foundation, and we did a lot of work on the east side.... Cleveland never gives that side of town any attention. In short, Cleveland's neighborhoods, even the healthy ones, are only just now seeing signs of rebirth and have a long way to go, which means overall, Cleveland has a long way to go before it even stabilizes.