Is Columbus the best city in the Midwest? (Cleveland, Cincinnati: costs, safer)

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by TomJones123

Excuse me, not unigov, I had that wrong, but annexation.

https://www.columbusnavigator.com/columbus-annexation/

Columbus hasn't significantly annexed land for almost 40 years now.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Ah yes, Hilltop. One of several neighborhoods in the city comprised mostly of ranch homes and no sidewalks. You see tons of neighborhoods like this in thriving metropolises.

I would argue most of Hilltop is early 20th Century American Foursquare homes, not ranches. You generally have to go south of Mound Street to see ranches, which stretch from SW Hilltop to Georgian Heights. The main and largest core of the neighborhood, though, is absolutely not ranches.
Furthermore, the vast majority of the neighborhood has sidewalks now, even the ranch areas. Not every single street, yet, but they are gradually being filled in. For some reason, developers in the 1950s didn't put any priority in them.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by TomJones123

Its not irrelevant, da heck? Im not stating it as a slam either its just what it is.

Adding more light.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adammil...h=7ea4069d25be

That article quotes Aaron Renn as a source of the predicted boom's end, a former Indy booster who has long seemed to have a grudge against Columbus (like most of the posters here), and has now gone on to post almost exclusively about evangelical Christianity while occasionally posting something to New Geography, a notorious anti-city website.

Since that article, Columbus saw its highest growth period in history, and now seems to be rolling in major investment. If anything, the boom times are just beginning.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

I kind of feel like the people who say things like Columbus not having neighborhoods and everything is similar haven't traveled very much. Most American cities are like this

True enough, but it just seems like Columbus is exceedingly short on distinct interesting neighborhoods, even in comparison to nearby cities. Indy, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh all have like 5-10 destination areas, whereas Columbus seems to have just the Short North and German Village?

I'm all ears if there are more areas of Columbus I should be checking out.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by TomJones123

Here it is in more detail:

https://teachingcleveland.org/annexa...ander-tebbens/

Through annexation, Columbus gained not only land, but also additional population, new commercial centers, and it achieved Sensenbrenner’s initial goal of escaping strangulation by its suburbs25. Under Mayor Sensenbrenner the city also finally outgrew Cincinnati and Cleveland in size, to become the city with the largest area in Ohio. The City of Columbus now takes up nearly all of Franklin County and stretches into Delaware, Union, and Licking counties. In many cases, the city has engulfed its own suburbs

I don't understand why people keep claiming Columbus takes up all or most of Franklin County. It absolutely does not. It fills only about 40% of the county, and only very small tendrils of the actual city limits extend into Delaware and Licking Counties. It does not stretch into Union County.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by ferraris

True enough, but it just seems like Columbus is exceedingly short on distinct interesting neighborhoods, even in comparison to nearby cities. Indy, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh all have like 5-10 destination areas, whereas Columbus seems to have just the Short North and German Village?

I'm all ears if there are more areas of Columbus I should be checking out.

Okay, let's compare. What are the 5-10 destination neighborhoods in Indy, Cleveland and Pittsburgh? Also, what is the criteria used to establish a neighborhood as being unique or a "destination"? Because I just think these are largely just arbitrary classifications used to put down cities people don't like, so I'm curious what we're judging here. Is it age of buildings, architectural style, density, walkability... what, exactly? Also, is there any particular area size minimum/maximum to be considered? And how are the neighborhoods broken up? For example, do we consider German Village and Merion Village as the same neighborhood, or 2 separate neighborhoods that are just adjacent to one another?

[nadnerb]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Okay, let's compare. What are the 5-10 destination neighborhoods in Indy, Cleveland and Pittsburgh? Also, what is the criteria used to establish a neighborhood as being unique or a "destination"? Because I just think these are largely just arbitrary classifications used to put down cities people don't like, so I'm curious what we're judging here. Is it age of buildings, architectural style, density, walkability... what, exactly? Also, is there any particular area size minimum/maximum to be considered? And how are the neighborhoods broken up? For example, do we consider German Village and Merion Village as the same neighborhood, or 2 separate neighborhoods that are just adjacent to one another?

Pittsburgh has:

Strip District - bustling area with markets, grocers, and local vendors; cool gritty vibe

Lawrenceville - walkable area with industrial and row house aesthetic. Tons of shops and other local businesses. The majority of the neighborhood is in the National Register of Historic Places

Oakland - beautiful gothic buildings, Carnegie Museums, conservatory, Schenley Park

North Side - Looks like German Village (in the Mexican War Streets area), the National Aviary which is very impressive, and the Warhol Museum.

Shadyside - walkable residential area with restored Victorian architecture. Kind of like what the Short North + Victorian Village is to Columbus.


For Columbus, I would also add the OSU campus area as a destination.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Okay, let's compare. What are the 5-10 destination neighborhoods in Indy, Cleveland and Pittsburgh? Also, what is the criteria used to establish a neighborhood as being unique or a "destination"? Because I just think these are largely just arbitrary classifications used to put down cities people don't like, so I'm curious what we're judging here. Is it age of buildings, architectural style, density, walkability... what, exactly? Also, is there any particular area size minimum/maximum to be considered? And how are the neighborhoods broken up? For example, do we consider German Village and Merion Village as the same neighborhood, or 2 separate neighborhoods that are just adjacent to one another?

For Cleveland I think the following neighborhoods demonstrate a lot of uniqueness with different personalities and things to do. I'm also going to lump multiple contiguous neighborhoods together. We will not include downtowns.

1) Ohio City/Tremont/Detroit Shoreway/Edgewater - the trendy youung professional urbanista type lives here. Plenty of nightlife, at least 15 craft breweries, a plethora of coffee shops with people remote working all day long. Served by red line rapid and numerous bus lines, some 24/7. This neighborhood features the old school West Side Market, Edgewater Beach.

2) Little Italy/University Circle/Cedar Fairmount/Coventry - the cultural capital of the city with Case Western Reserve, Severance Hall, Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cultural Gardens, Botanical Garden, among others. One of the cultural capitals of the entire midwest imo only rivaled/surpassed by spots in Chicago. Plenty of students and old school Italians. Lakeview Cemetary features some truly unique places, such as Wade Chapel and Garfield Mausoleum. Best architectural area in the city.

3) Shaker Square/Larchmere - modeled after European/Dutch city neighborhoods, with excellent rapid transit and bus service. Unique square in Ohio. Easily walkable too. Lots of housing options from classic high rises to duplexes. High population density. Accesible to Shaker Lakes.

4) North Collinwood/North section of Euclid - place where both blacks and whites coexist peacefully. Anchored by Waterloo Arts District, where national acts museum acts frequently perform (beachland ballroom). East 185th Street has a very long mile plus stretch of commercial activity, very practical. The most unique part of this area, unduplicarted anywhere in Ohio (certainly not Columbus) is the residential area north of Lakeshore Boulevard, where each block owns its own private park on Lake Erie. The entire public can enjoy Euclid beach and Wildwood park, part of Cleveland Metroparks and also Simms Beach/Park.

5) Kamms Corner/West Park - Irish capital of Cleveland. Solid stretch of bars, cafes and shopping, also served by red line rapid and bus lines. Classic cop/firefighter neighborhood, but now getting even bougier and sought after by other young families. Easy access to the massive Rocky River metropark.

For Columbus, I would equate Short North/German Village/Merion Village/Old Towne East with Ohio City/Tremont/Edgewater/Detroit Shoreway. It would be logical to lump together the University District/Clintonville/Old North with Little Italy/University Circle due to the college presence, but I don't find these to actually be all that similar past that. OSU much much larger, University Circle much more high culture oriented than anything in Columbus. There really isn't any answer to the ethnic areas of Cleveland. There is no Shaker Square Larchmere, North Collinwood, nor Kamms in Columbus. There are other neighborhoods in Columbus that may very well be nice, but IMO just kinda duplicates of the Short North attitude more or less. For example I don't see a qualitative difference really between the people and activities of Clintonville and the Short North. Or Grandview and Short North. The same people could live in any of these spots. The people who live in Euclid are NOT the same people who live in ohio city. It's just a completely different type of scene.

By the way, I could add more neighborhoods in Cleveland, such as Cedar Lee, parts of Lakewood, maybe Asiatown, maybe Old Brooklyn. Don't want to write anymore though.

[ferraris]

I'd add the lower northside and the southside flats for Pittsburgh.

For Indy, at least Broad Ripple, Irvington, Mass Ave, and Fountain Square. The entire cultural trail is worth noting, even though it's not a neighborhood itself per se.

You're right that it's tricky to define. I'm thinking areas that meet any of the following

1.) Would attract tourists to visit for more than one thing (so a zoo wouldn't typically count, for example)

2.) Would attract locals to spend an evening or an afternoon, at more than one location

3.) Are comprised of some unique demographic (gayborhood, artists, ethnic enclaves, successful integration and diversity)

4.) Significant "built environment" interest -- kind of a catch all for architecture and other noteworthy features like Pittsburgh's overlooks, Indy's monuments and Cultural Trail, Cleveland's Edgewater Park and Playhouse Square. I'd even include largely residential areas in this, like Toledo's Old West End and Pittsburgh's hilltop neighborhoods (e.g. Southside slopes, Troy Hill, Fineview).

I'm genuinely curious to find out if there are similar places in Columbus.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by ferraris

I'd add the lower northside and the southside flats for Pittsburgh.

For Indy, at least Broad Ripple, Irvington, Mass Ave, and Fountain Square. The entire cultural trail is worth noting, even though it's not a neighborhood itself per se.

You're right that it's tricky to define. I'm thinking areas that meet any of the following

1.) Would attract tourists to visit for more than one thing (so a zoo wouldn't typically count, for example)

2.) Would attract locals to spend an evening or an afternoon, at more than one location

3.) Are comprised of some unique demographic (gayborhood, artists, ethnic enclaves, successful integration and diversity)

4.) Significant "built environment" interest -- kind of a catch all for architecture and other noteworthy features like Pittsburgh's overlooks, Indy's monuments and Cultural Trail, Cleveland's Edgewater Park and Playhouse Square. I'd even include largely residential areas in this, like Toledo's Old West End and Pittsburgh's hilltop neighborhoods (e.g. Southside slopes, Troy Hill, Fineview).

I'm genuinely curious to find out if there are similar places in Columbus.

Carson Street in in Southside Flats is pretty much like the Short North, but different architecture. Northside definintely has some unique stuff nowhere else does, such as National Aviary and Warhol Museum. I do think the Short North is considerably better/nicer than the Strip District. Oakland and University District can be compared. Cbus def doesn't have a Mt Washington, that's a pretty unique neighborhood.