Oh Cincinnati, Oh. How I love, love, hate you. Before moving to Indianapolis I spent 2 years living in Cincinnati, Ohio in the neighborhood of Clifton. During this time I gained a true appreciation for what the city is and all the quirks that exist there. What I concluded is that there is a lot to love about the City, but also some things to hate…but more love than hate. Culturally, physically, and emotionally, Cincinnati is an amazingly unique place with a provincial attitude completely different than any other Midwest counterpart. With these oddities and attitudes comes certain social down sides that gives the City a bad reputation and why it ultimately isn’t a creative class destination. Below, I list the positives and negatives of Cincinnati.
Here is why I love, love Cincinnati:
- Identity. The region has a unique, provincial culture not found anywhere else. Whether it’s the food (Skyline Chili, Dewey’s, Graeter’s to name a few), the government, or the institutions, Cincinnati seems to have retained its sense-of-self in ways other Midwest cities have not. People in the area don’t consider themselves from Ohio, but instead just from Cincinnati. Cincinnati is its own city-state.
- Local. Locally owned businesses seem to thrive in Cincinnati. While other Midwest towns have become ‘Chain City USA’s’, Cincinnati celebrates their local businesses and builds community around them. What I find interesting about downtown Cincinnati’s renaissance is the number of locally owned establishments fueling the rebirth. Unlike other towns, Cincinnati isn’t marking their downtown’s success by which chains it does and does not have.
- Community. The sense of community pride in the City is strong. More often than not, people who live in Cincinnati love Cincinnati. Also, since the City is so neighborhood focused, each having it’s own flavor and sense-of-place, people latch on to their respective communities, keep up on current events, and actively voice concerns. More so than other places, Cincinnati citizens definitely care about their community.
- Density. Cincinnati is structurally America’s oldest inland City and thus developed before the car and in extremely dense fashions similar to East Coast cities. Plus, the City’s hills constrained development, making the neighborhoods even denser (Cincinnati was the densest City in the United States outside of New York for quite some time).
- Geography. Cincinnati’s hilly geography allowed each neighborhood to develop separately, each with their own business district and each in different forms. On top of this, the hilly, river valley geography provides great views and interesting urban landscapes and juxtapositions.
- Architecture. The City’s core features the Midwest’s best collection of 19th Century architecture as well as innovative new architecture (hello The Ascent and Contemporary Arts Center.)
So enough gushing about how great the City is, because with this love, love comes the ‘hate’:
- Cliques. Because of the provincial culture, Cincinnati seems closed off to outsiders and their respective ideas. Newcomer’s often describe Cincinnati as ‘cliquey’ and find it difficult to fit in to social circles.
- Close-minded. The City has a negative reputation with being open to minorities, namely the gay and lesbian population and African-Americans. As a gay man living in the City, I feel this stereotype applies more to the surrounding suburbs than the liberal leaning City, but it nonetheless is a perception problem the reigon has to deal with.
- Status-quo. While other parts of the country progress on certain issues, Cincinnati seems to take a ‘wait-and-see’ approach. If something is proven successful time and time again, Cincinnati will come on board, and probably when other places like New York and San Francisco have already moved on to the next big thing. Thus, the City seems comfortable with the status quo, and progress happens slowly here.
***There are plenty of other things to both love and hate about Cincinnati, but my analysis is limited to the region’s provincialism and unique culture.***
I have to say that I have seen great progress in Cincinnati over the past few years, with current leadership and community activism geared towards ending the status quo, ridding the City of this ‘hate’ I speak of, and moving forward in positive ways. With this progress comes the question: if Cincinnati continues to open itself to other ideas and virtues, can it hold onto its uniqueness? In general, can a City continue celebrating it’s uniqueness while opening up to the outside? I think the obvious answer is ‘yes’, a City can do this and there are plenty of examples. But unfortunately, there are also examples that point to the contrary. So as Cincinnati moves forward it must be aware of this give and take and find the proper balance in becoming a bigger and better 21st Century City.
For as long as I can remember, I have had this love, love, hate relationship with Cincinnati. However, my ideas are not new and have been examined before. Check out this post by the Urbanophile for a similar take on Cincinnati:
Thanks for the link. Did you happen to see this one:
http://www.chicagocarless.com/2008/09/09/cincinnati-is-cool/
Thanks Aaron, that is a great, in-depth article.
It is an interesting question about whether Cincinnati can maintain its uniqueness while also opening itself up to the outside world. And I would agree with you that the answer is a resounding yes.
As evidence I would point to most European nations that are extremely provincial and celebrate their unique identities with great vigor. At the same time though, these European nations and cities are open to outside ideas and thoughts, but take them in through the lens of their own uniqueness and their own identity.
Cincinnati can easily maintain its uniqueness. Cincinnati-style chili can and will continue to thrive locally, but it doesn’t mean we have to be adverse to other food offerings (which Cincinnati is not…just giving an example). Cincinnatians could also maintain their unique neighborhood identities, but at the same time, they don’t have to position you as an outsider just because you didn’t attend a high school somewhere within the Cincinnati MSA.
Another interesting point is the hesitancy to try new things. This has been both a blessing and a curse. While other Midwestern cities have fallen mightily, Cincinnati has not. Cincinnati has a well diverse economic structure and has solid business that are often considered to be “recession-proof.” At the same time this has kept Cincinnati from booming when other cities have boomed.
In the end this makes Cincinnati much like the blue chip company that makes its bread and butter there – Procter & Gamble. You might not know of them, and what they do isn’t all that sexy, but in the end it’s a stable company and you know they’re gonna be around for the long haul.
This post really speaks to my own feelings of Cincinnati both when I lived there and now as an expatriate. The city does indeed have this magenetism and assets that most places would die for (architecture, geography, culture, big business and small business). Yet the city has also fallen victim to the worst of its characteristics. The city unfortunately continues to play those up far more strongly and to much further extremes.
The city’s relationship with transit (subways, light rail, street cars) would be material for fiction in any other American city. Let alone our boondoggles with stadia building, urban renewal, and eminent domain.
While most folks will say Cincinnati needs to keep up pace by looking elsewhere for ideas and strategies, Cincinnatians use such suggestions as fuel to fight progress. And it is of course the right of Cincinnatians to rebuff such perspectives. Yet Cincinnatians must accept the responsibility and blame for the the unfortunate, stale, and stagnant state of their city and region; in spite of its amazing assets and opportunities.
Love this post! I have lived in Cincinnati all of my life except for three years in my teens, when I lived in Chicago. You could not have described it better.