comparing Cincy and Columbus 'burbs... (Cincinnati, Dublin: cul-de-sac, loft, condos)

[hairmetal4ever]

Just a question from Maryland...

Which Cincinnati area community would be more comparable to, say, Dublin or Powell in the Columbus area?

I'd guess Mason from indirect knowledge, or maybe West Chester Township...anyone know?

[abr7rmj]

Loveland, Mason and West Chester are pretty good comparisons. There's also Blue Ash, Montgomery, Park Hills, Wyoming maybe?

[kjbrill]

Why are we drawn into this comparison of Cincinnati and Columbus burbs? Is there some inquiry of which we are unaware, or just some playing around by a couple of advocates?

[abr7rmj]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Why are we drawn into this comparison of Cincinnati and Columbus burbs? Is there some inquiry of which we are unaware, or just some playing around by a couple of advocates?

Maybe the OP is thinking of moving and is familiar with Columbus but not Cincinnati so much?

I always feel like Columbus is one giant burb anyway. I never really get a good urban feeling there. Maybe it's the extreme flatness, or that the city feels so dinky and dull when driving in from the south. That's not to discount some cool areas in Columbus though, like German Village and High Street adjacent to OSU.

[hairmetal4ever]

Just a bit of playing around mostly. Nothing other than that, just morbid curiosity sparked by a relative's moving to the area.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by hairmetal4ever

Just a bit of playing around mostly. Nothing other than that, just morbid curiosity sparked by a relative's moving to the area.

Thanks for your honesty. I can't thinkg of many direct comparisons between Columbus and Cincinnati burbs, as the topography is so different. Hills and valleys alongside a major river compared to flat land equal to the great plains.

Columbus to me is a city trying to decide in which direction to grow, as all directions appear equal. Since there is very little distinction between the city and its burbs, expansion by annexation is a possibility. Even if the city does not expand, it is somewhat of a blur where the boundaries are.

Cincinnati on the other hand is a city which needs to concentrate on how to shrink its government to be consistent with the actual population it is likely to retain in the coming several decades. Wishful thinkers dream of people returning to the city life in great droves to experience a tranquil urban life free from stress. Everyone can simply walk to their destination and enjoy life's simplicity. Reality says our fast paced modern lifestyle means life in a high-rise is equated to a prison.

[abr7rmj]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Thanks for your honesty. I can't thinkg of many direct comparisons between Columbus and Cincinnati burbs, as the topography is so different. Hills and valleys alongside a major river compared to flat land equal to the great plains.

Columbus to me is a city trying to decide in which direction to grow, as all directions appear equal. Since there is very little distinction between the city and its burbs, expansion by annexation is a possibility. Even if the city does not expand, it is somewhat of a blur where the boundaries are.

Cincinnati on the other hand is a city which needs to concentrate on how to shrink its government to be consistent with the actual population it is likely to retain in the coming several decades. Wishful thinkers dream of people returning to the city life in great droves to experience a tranquil urban life free from stress. Everyone can simply walk to their destination and enjoy life's simplicity. Reality says our fast paced modern lifestyle means life in a high-rise is equated to a prison.

Yea, how awful to want to work toward an environmentally sensitive, sustainable urban environment where you don't have to rely on 25-mile treks to/from the suburbs a couple of times a day. Let's just resign ourselves to a future of stopped traffic on the interstate, endless sprawl, monotonous strip malls, dinner at Applebee's and ugly cul-de-sacs in some featureless subdivision with sickly looking stick trees in front of garish mcmansions.

"Equated to a prison" indeed.

[kjbrill]

Isn't it just amazing how many people desire to live in their McMansion on an ugly cul-de-sac in the suburbs. As I watch my neighbors out cutting their grass, weeding and tending to their flower beds, and all the other little duties homeowners tend to do I am just sick with how dreadful their lives are. Granted we need much better public transportation for commuting, but I fault the citites for it not existing. To fight for better transportation the cities would have to admit the suburbs are their lifeblood, not vice versa.

As far as the stick trees in front of the houses, just give them a little time, Mine are now about 60 feet tall and block my view of the Kings Island fireworks. Those who dream of strolling through tranquil streets in a conjested urban environment are the real optimists. It existed at one time, when individual rights were at the top of the list, but not anymore. I agree the suburbs exist as an escape from the city, but I see little to sway the majority to return. A few adventerous souls may feel a loft downtown is the perfect place, but the first sign of a kid and it is where are we going to go?

[abr7rmj]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Isn't it just amazing how many people desire to live in their McMansion on an ugly cul-de-sac in the suburbs. As I watch my neighbors out cutting their grass, weeding and tending to their flower beds, and all the other little duties homeowners tend to do I am just sick with how dreadful their lives are. Granted we need much better public transportation for commuting, but I fault the citites for it not existing. To fight for better transportation the cities would have to admit the suburbs are their lifeblood, not vice versa.

As far as the stick trees in front of the houses, just give them a little time, Mine are now about 60 feet tall and block my view of the Kings Island fireworks. Those who dream of strolling through tranquil streets in a conjested urban environment are the real optimists. It existed at one time, when individual rights were at the top of the list, but not anymore. I agree the suburbs exist as an escape from the city, but I see little to sway the majority to return. A few adventerous souls may feel a loft downtown is the perfect place, but the first sign of a kid and it is where are we going to go?

Wow, where to begin with this?

A) Money can probably buy a significant chunk of happiness regardless of where you live, as I'm sure the people who live in the brand new million-dollar homes and condos in the middle of the city will attest to. But it's interesting that you seemingly equate mcmansion ownership with happiness in life. If you can afford a mcmansion, you're probably not outwardly hurting. But some of the stuff that goes on inside those suburban mcmansions - coughcough Ryan Widmer coughcough - isn't exactly the perfect little white-bread world you make it out to be. Don't the shocked neighbors always tell the TV cameras: "I can't believe this happened in our neighborhood" or "They seemed like such a nice couple, always out cutting the grass, weeding and tending to the flower beds"?

B) We need "much better public transportation" but you blame the cities for its non-existence? Well it does exist in functional metros that actually know how to operate as one cohesive region. But in our case, how about blaming the anti-city suburbanites who continually vote against it? If it's strictly up to the city (2009 Issue 9 vote), we'd have rail. Open it up county-wide or, God forbid, region-wide, and it gets slaughtered by the same people who complain about it not existing. And is it the city's responsibility to shuttle your blissful neighbors back to their utopia so they can weed and tend to their flower beds after a long day of toiling in the evil city? If Mason residents don't like spending a significant portion of their lives staring at brake lights on I-71, why don't they do something about it? My thoughts on this topic are well known. This entire region is so fractured and petty in its provincial mindset that a region-wide mass transit system is probably as realistic as a five-star restaurant opening on Fields Ertel Road. And it's exactly the reason why we have to settle for small, modest projects that serve a relatively small group of people, like the Cincinnati streetcar. We're just not allowed to think bigger than that around here.

C) You can't give those stick trees too much time. By the time the ones that actually survive are the height you dream of, most of the original home-owners who paid Lowe's to plant those trees are long, long gone from that particular neighborhood, moving still farther away and mowing down more forests and paving even more farmland for their new, bigger mcmansions with new flower beds to weed and tend to. Or they bailed on the region altogether and high-tailed it to Charlotte or Atlanta at the first job offer they got.

D) Urban residential environments existed at one time but don't anymore? Um, OK ... but like most people around here, you really do have to turn off WLW and get out more. The urban environment that you think doesn't exist actually does all over the U.S., Canada and Europe. And they exist in Cincinnati in places such as Prospect Hill, Clifton Gaslight, Mount Adams, Hyde Park, Mount Lookout, Oakley, Pleasant Ridge, and increasingly in Over-the-Rhine and elsewhere. I can't understand why you and some others want the city to fail in its efforts to create even more of these areas. Without Cincinnati, there is no Mason, there are no people weeding flower beds in your neighborhood, there are no people moving to this area from London, there are no golf clubs here to meet wealthy golf pros, and there are no nightly Kings Island fireworks that you can't see anymore because your trees are too tall.

[kjbrill]

abr7rmj ... Will not even try to respond in full.

The Ryan Widmer instance is a total proof of how decadent the suburbs are? Don't bother to count the dozens of murders per month in several of the inner city neighborhoods.

The whole attitude that Cincinnati is the reason for the suburbs is part of the problem. In reality, if the suburbs did not exist Cincinnati would have disappeared quite awhile ago. Give me some real statistics on how many are employed within the boundaries of the City and how many jobs are outside of the city in the greater metropolitan area. Just what tail on the dog is waving today.