neilworms

I'm thinking less about the Financial District and areas around it and more along the lines of the Richmond, the Sunset, etc. Those parts of town shock me, because frankly the architecture shows that it was developed in the 1930s-1950s but yet there are corner stores off main drags like you'd find in pre 1890s era neighborhoods - they even feel like pre-streetcar era neighborhoods which is totally unique, I'm kind of wondering how that came about? I think the outer neighborhoods like the sunset in San Fran are pretty much an outlier in terms of urbanism for the US.

I'd also like to add that San Francisco has a ton of these, and its still a very pedestrian friendly city. The biggest impact is finding a streetside parking spot if you drive. And the reason for San Fran having these is not historic, historically these spaces were garden areas which were in every house in part due to the climate which allows for year around semi-outdoor gardens, as cars became more popular these were pretty much universally converted in to garages as like Cincinnati there aren't many car friendly alleyways in San Fran. https://4feet2mouths.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/2012-08-02-20-bay-area-road-trip-222.jpg

Yeah, the Cincinnati region has so much wealth outside of the city its going to be a long time before the market for young professionals, empty nesters, and people who want to send their kids to private school or magnet schools runs out. After traveling around a bit it still amazes me how an economically ok region like Cincy is so impoverished in its core - take a look at census maps on average incomes sometime to see what I'm talking about. The good news is that there are still PLENTY of undervalued areas in the core. If OTR is way overvalued (in spots I might add), then there are other areas within walking/biking distance of the core that aren't. In the grand scheme of things OTR is still dirt cheap - when I was down in town for MPMF I ran into a guy who was working a tech job in San Francisco, but living in OTR (as a lot of tech jobs can be done remotely). He's still making an SF salary (which is probably 6 figures given the company he said he was working for) but living in OTR. This is still a steal for someone like him where his six figure salary could probably get him a studio condo at best in SF in OTR that could get him one of those luxury townhouses easily. I'm sure there are more people like him.

Part of it is also market demand, most of the demos that took place in OTR were of single family houses so there is a shortage of them and a market that wants them. (Though I agree that along the streetcar should be denser).

Yet another example of establishment Cincinnati not giving a damn about its greatest asset, ugh.

Though isn't the streetcar in Cincy already kind of an outlier considering the density of destinations it goes to?

Its my understanding that this is SORTA's plan for its upcoming levy - more metro*plus routes which IMO is a great idea. I can't tell you how much I wish that Chicago's buses would follow the LA model of local and rapid and in Cincy which is a smaller city it would be even better.

I think most of them are owned by the Law Offices of Arnold S Levine.

Nice looking town. Its former flag is one of the worst I've ever seen lol: http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/b2/db2a8182-970c-11e2-bac8-0019bb2963f4/51533be4d9015.preview-620.jpg

Though you could argue that neons is the same and id argue that it adds to the street life of main, it's only a few steps away

No one has been able to answer this question, but why is Pendleton a separate neighborhood when something like fairview or clifton heights not one?

Sorta thinks the same as you - metro buses tell you your downtown when you hit the basin

That's why Jake suggested loading zones... Here's a good example, and if you think the traffic is bad on mainstreet at midnight you should see what Milwaukee Ave is like (and it is two way). https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9100148,-87.6769054,3a,37.1y,240.27h,83.32t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWOIMzsE7vqwkc9cJqkuXwg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 night photo of traffic add in cabs everywhere and people jaywalking everywhere: http://cdn.partyearth.com/photos/f960d0927e9bdf70e67dac309d04c35c/wicker-park-bucktown_s460.jpg?1375010485 There is one thing Chicago does that Cincinnati should do on streets like this - if they are flat the street should have dashed yellow lines which make it legal for cars to go over the line to get around stopped vehicles. I don't know how many times I've driven on Vine in OTR and wished that was there (though sometimes I just go ahead and do it).

In an Urbane city that accommodates all forms of transportation not a backwater hick town ;). Its actually a good idea. I think the 2-way conversion would help alleviate a lot of the congestion that exists there on Friday and Saturday nights since lot of the traffic is frivolous cruising and idling cabs/uber/lyft cars who feel free to idle since there is an open lane. Eliminate a few of the parking meters and do a 10-minute pickup zone for the uber and lyft cars. That's cute Jake. Take away parking meters and lose all that revenue? Where do you think you are?

Cincy's street grid was based off of Philly, I'm pretty sure the streets in the core of Cincy are the same width as much of Philly's center city. I'm not sure how analogous it is to OTR given the population discrepancy, but Center City Philadelphia is comprised almost entirely of one way streets, including South Philly which is highly residential, and I found it much nicer to deal with as a pedestrian than areas with two-way streets. One-way streets can be narrower and allow pedestrians to just check one direction when crossing. Not saying it's exactly what OTR needs, but in principle one-way streets can be highly pedestrian-friendly and don't need to just convenience through traffic.

There are other things that will need work, cultural activities (as in new stuff not old stuff like the symphony or ballet), general diversity of population (way more transplants) and a generally more positive attitude (at least in the part of Chicago you are referring to, there is a second Chicago that is much more like Cleveland), that is more welcoming towards outsiders (I never get asked the high school question). Film lover culture is practically non-existant in Cincinnati, and other cultural interests like architecture aren't as well developed as they are in Chicago. There also needs to be a realization of who Cincinnati is and what cities they should compare themselves to. Too many Cincy people don't aim high enough on that and in general there is a culture that is accepting of mediocrity. While there are parts of Chicago that are that way, the part of Chicago you are referring to isn't. Cincinnati's built urban form is its greatest asset. Other than the Loop which blows Cincy's CBD out of the water _ Cincinnati is a more attractive city and in its core at least a more compact city than Chicago is (though as I state over and over again, Cincy's infill is significantly worse than Chicago's). Its amazing how much nicer it is to walk when the blocks are shorter, the streets narrower, and the low rise historic buildings are more attractive. Even then, there need to be cultural changes, people in OTR still drive from Main Street to Washington Park - which is absolutely absurd coming from someone who lives in Chicago - that's like 1 and 1/2 Chicago block in some neighborhoods - its barely any distance at all! Massive cultural changes including an interest in transit need to take place before the world that you describe happens. Cincy is closer to it than ever before though and that's something I frankly never thought I'd see - I'm cheering for it but there still is kind of a deer in headlights view among people in Cincy towards urban living - its very new and they are kind of having growing pains adjusting to it.

There are a few transit apps that support metro but not tank as tank hasn't released real time tracking info yet. Bus detective is the most reliable but its interface is janky. Transit app I really like but it frequently in Cincy doesn't capture realtime information (though it does give you a scheduled time if it doesn't get the real time info) One other annoying thing I've noticed if you are looking at outbound buses from downtown and are south of liberty the tracking tends not to show up.

Seeing Luken attached to this makes me even more weary of suggesting people I know in Cincy support this. There are far more pressing issues to deal with in Cincinnati - beefing up the transit system IMO should be a top priority.

Cuban and Puerto Rican and it shows a pic of tacos?! Just call it Latin fusion

Did a bike trip with a friend from Aurora to Elgin, that whole fox river valley area is very pretty (I've also learned its shockingly conservative compared to deeper into Chicagoland though more moderate than SW Ohio). My favorite pre-war Satellite town of Chicago - largeish town at the periphery of Chicagoland as opposed to commuter towns like the ones on the north shore, would probably be Elgin. Its really turned around in the last few years too and has the strongest downtown (though Kenosha probably comes in a close second). Aurora's architecture is really great, and as I haven't been there in a year or two I'm sure its looking better (it was a touch seedy when I was there last but still interesting).

Btw its also a 5 min walk from Metro+ and about 20 mins from downtown using transit. That better?

Those are Chicago prices, not west loop but damn...

I saw the same thing happen to wicker park, though Chicago was in slow motion over the course of about 5 years. Plus we never got as pretentious, Midwesterners are still fairly low key even in hip parts of Chicago. River North is the only hood that has that level of bullshit but it's more of a preppy yuppie variety

I work in tech and live in a hip urban neighborhood and this is too much for me...

These houses are a travesty, almost as bad as the similar suburban McMansions they built just down the street from the painted lady row in Columbia Tusculum. http://tinyurl.com/o24j4wk (Google Maps)