A big bouncing ball and big bouncing topics

Here are just a few of the subjects we touched on during Friday night’s conversation. Please feel free to add your two cents in the comments!

A grocery store for downtown: Local developer Doug, whose company reps retail operations such as Target and Trader Joe’s, says that there just is not enough of a demand for a grocery store in downtown Cincinnati – yet. Any potential grocery store is going to have certain needs, including parking and, crucially, enough business to keep the operation profitable.

Our (perceived) savior, the streetcar: There was near-unanimous approval for the streetcar plans, with the only real reservation coming from (what are the odds?) me. As I put it on Friday: “People try to justify this project by saying that ‘nobody’ rides the bus because it’s seen as being for poor people. I’ve yet to hear a cogent argument for catering to bigots with taxpayer money.” (And I say this as a car-free downtowner who rides the bus.) I’m not against the streetcar, per se, but I am suspicious of the urge to shut down debate about its necessity which I and others have observed at both social events and city press conferences about the project.

Financial literacy for Cincinnatians: I took a quick poll around the room, asking, “Who taught you about money? And did they teach you well?” Most people said that nobody taught them about money. (My take: Just as with sex education, if nobody addressed it, then your parents actually taught you through their silence that it isn’t important.) We also agreed that it’s not just inner-city kids who desperately need to be fiscally informed, but people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. I related a bit about the amazing Operation HOPE programs across the country and world, and someone mentioned Smart Money working in Cincinnati (from their website, it doesn’t look like there’s much going on there). I have actually been in contact with Operation HOPE founder and chairman John Bryant about bringing their programs to Cincinnati. Would this just be duplicating Smart Money’s work?

Cincinnati area geography as selling point: This doesn’t get mentioned very often, but several people in our group talked about how the surrounding hills and woods of the area are such a huge bonus to living here. Detroit transplant Jeff Stec said that, when he moved to Cincinnati, the area seemed almost cupped by the hills in a very welcoming way. Is enough being made of this in trying to attract new residents? Many who have never been to Ohio may think of it as primarily a flat, industrial landscape or a boring, mostly rural state.

Downtowners/OTR residents perpetuating negative stereotypes?: Naz and I talked about the fact that some people smugly talk about living downtown or in Over-the-Rhine as if it requires some great sacrifice on their part. These people can unwittingly legitimize the ridiculous view that some outsiders have of these areas – that they are ultra-dangerous, crime-ridden holes that nobody but white liberal guilt indulgers would call home.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten some stuff – if you were there and want to remind us, go ahead and do so in the comments!