Blame “Sex in the City”
Monday, December 3rd, 2007
Is the search for cool, dense, urban areas outside of Ohio leading to declining populations in Ohio cities?
Is not being able to get a cup of coffee at 11:00 at night part of the Ohio “brain drain” you hear about?
Pop Culture is responsible for young people wanting to move back to urban neighborhoods? “Seinfeld”, “Frasier” and “Sex in the City” and other television shows are among the pop influences that effect perception of cities according to Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institute. Listen to The Idea Virus - audio (mp3 on the Columbus Dispatch.)
Older Americans were brought up with movies like Blade Runner and other apocalyptic stories of city life… so we settled in suburban areas…. Who knew?
Dispatch Special Report On the Brink Can Ohio’s Cities be saved? Is written by By Mark Niquette, Alan Johnson and Joe Hallett of the Columbus Dispatch. The great graphics of changes in the 7 cities in population, housing values, jobs and geography… in “a snapshot of Ohio’s cities. ” is included online.
What are the seven big cities in Ohio?
In alphabetical order, Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Youngstown.
Of the other six largest Ohio cities Sunday’s Columbus Dispatch Article says:
• “Youngstown has adopted a “shrinking city” concept, tearing down vacant houses and buildings and replacing them with green space”
• “Akron is relying on polymers and foreign investment to help ease the blow from the decline of its rubber industry.
• “Dayton is counting on development of surrounding medical centers with names such as Phoenix and Renaissance,”
• “Cincinnati is trying to polish the tarnished image of a signature neighborhood, Over-the-Rhine, and negotiating for $1 billion in new riverfront development.”
• “Toledo is banking its future on past successes as a manufacturing and assembly powerhouse.”
• “Cleveland is luring residents back to inner-city neighborhoods with unique incentives, using Cleveland Clinic as the anchor to make the city an international biomedical research and treatment destination.”
Columbus? What about Columbus? The Dispatch article says “Ohio’s cities, as we have historically known them, are dead. Forget the past. Except for Columbus, Ohio’s big cities have endured vast population and job losses. “
Columbus was not industrial. Columbus has not had the job losses the other six Ohio cities have had. Columbus population has continued to grow… The city of Columbus boundaries have continued to grow.
I was surprised by some of the stats in the Columbus Dispatch, especially about Cleveland and Youngstown. I am familiar with the Ohio cities, except Youngstown and Toledo. Youngstown, I was there one weekend and Toledo I’ve only driven through. I lived in Akron and Dayton before moving to Columbus. Living in Akron and Dayton you get to explore Cleveland and Cincinnati.
Blaming the Ohio legislature - the Columbus Dispatch Article “Legislature has let cities down, mayor says” is also written by Niquette, Johnson and Hallett.
Monday’s installment of the Columbus Dispatch Article is about Cleveland.
On the brink: Cleveland - Pockets of rebirth amid ocean of poverty
“Friends” a television show that Katz of the Brookings Institute did not mention popped into my head after reading a comment in todays installment:
…from a 34 year old physician raised in the Cleveland suburbs now living in the City of Cleveland ” If and when kids come, Pujazon-Zazik said, “I would probably move to the suburbs even though I love this place.”
Didn’t the TV show “Friends” end with Monica and Chandler moving from New York City to the suburbs when they had a baby?
