As America’s first boomtown, Cincinnati exploded with growth, culture, and prosperity in the early 1800’s. By 1850, the city was poised to become the New York of the Midwest; a true epicenter of commerce and industry. But a number of circumstances including the rise of the railroad and decline of the canal system ultimately doomed Cincinnati’s prominence and Chicago ultimately rose to power and took the throne from the Queen City. Since then, Cincinnati’s prowess has leveled off, its economic growth has stagnated, and as of today, the city stands in relative obscurity as a mid-size American city.
Ten years ago, it might have been easy to write off Cincinnati as a place that will never return to its stature. But more recently, a new sense of optimism and forward thinking has taken over the city and excitement and positive energy have become the norm. And with good reason, as there are a significant amount of great things currently happening that have the potential to truly transform the city in ways not experienced since its hey-day. With this new-found, still under the radar excitement and opportunity begs the questions: What is going on in Cincinnati? Is the city setting itself up for nominal growth or is something more happening; is Cincinnati poised to become America’s next boomtown?
When you study the economics on how well a region is doing, job growth, net in-migration, and population growth tend to be key indicators that are referenced and drawn upon. While these figures are important in understanding what is happening to your region from the outside-in, I believe they miss a bigger picture of what is occurring from the inside-out. Certainly, for the past 30 years Pittsburgh has been toward the bottom of the pile in terms of job growth, net in-migration, and population growth. And yet, few would disagree that the Pittsburgh of today is poised to become an a lead economic performer for years to come. This success is due to its ‘work with what you have’ and ‘build off existing assets’ attitude. Essentially, this is an inside-out approach to planning and economic development that doesn’t wait on the next big company or thing to come in and save the day. Instead, a city or region pools together existing resources and makes change happen from within. This is what Pittsburgh has done (eds’ and meds’ will be shouted on end from years to come) and in doing so, has provided a great example of how a region can turn itself around from economic collapse.
Cincinnati seems to be following in Pittsburgh’s footsteps, typically performing poorly on the outside-in economic indicators and yet beginning to see truly transformative progress from the inside-out. In my opinion, this progress has the ability to shift the city’s future in a big way. Examples of this transformative progress include:
- Physical projects – Megaprojects like ‘The Banks’ , Queen City Square, and the Central Riverfront Park are redefining the cityscape, all during troubled economic times.
- Transit projects – The streetcar and the bicycle transportation plan are progressive policies being implemented that have the ability to reshape the city’s premiere urban neighborhoods.
- Urban revitalization – Significant progress is being made in Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine as numerous vacant buildings are being transformed into apartments, condos, restaurants, and retail stores. With future projects coming on-line (Washington Park renovation, Mercer Commons) and the streetcar line running through the area, I expect a critical mass to take hold and a truly vibrant, totally unique urban neighborhood to rise up.
- Urban urban designs – The city is seeing quality urban design projects across the city limits. Anything from Michigan Terrace in Hyde Park to Trinity Flats in Over-the-Rhine proves that the city subscribes to quality urbanism.
- An ‘act local’ attitude – The recent announcement of downtown’s new grocery store is just another example of city residents not waiting around for the big box brand (Kroger) to come in and build that much-needed downtown store. Instead, local residents have taken the initiative, worked with what they have, and created the outcome they desired. This attitude seems to be the rule instead of the exception in Cincinnati.
- Visionary economic development initiatives – Whether you agree on principle with Agenda 360, Go Cincinnati, or the city’s recent Hub of Consumer Marketing and Innovation status, the plans are visionary, expecting big, and dreaming big. These characteristics reflect well on the region’s self confidence and are needed to secure a bigger, better future.
This transformative internal progress is coupled with numerous assets that have been around for years. Some of these include:
- Beautiful built form and architectural heritage;
- Fantastic geography;
- Top notch cultural institutions;
- Highly educated populace;
- Numerous universities; and
- Home of many Fortune 500 companies.
These traditional assets coupled with the transformative progress currently taking place are changing Cincinnati for the better. In fact the city is already starting to see the fruit of this positive change, as the population is posting gains for the first time in well over fifty years. I believe this population shift is the early signs of bigger and better things for the Queen City. What remains to be seen is how much bigger and how much better Cincinnati will become. My hope is that the city will reclaim its status as America’s first boomtown and become the first boomtown of the 21st Century. Time will tell, but one thing is for sure, Cincinnati is on the rise. Look out!
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