Yesterday I posted comments regarding a blog that described the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati. Today, I offer an alternative and a little more disheartening view on Cincinnati. Although the article, Ground Zero in Urban Decline claims that there is still hope for the cities like Cincinnati to revitalize, they are a lot of barriers in the way: "Yet cities such as Cincinnati make such development more difficult by continuing to focus on white elephants rather than the basic reforms that can help generate a broad economic base. Developers complain that many building inspectors are too narrowly focused on minimizing any risk when they should be letting the market innovate and diversify. Inspectors are focused on the narrowest interpretation of the law, and many rulings are arbitrary. Many developers in Cincinnati think of this as the cost of doing business, but it makes those areas less competitive than their suburban counterparts. Red tape shouldn't be considered simply another cost."

Ohio's economy has take some severe blows recently and it is obvious to most, that in order to recover we will need to change the way we do business in Ohio and think outside of the box. The Cleveland area has already started this process with the upcoming "Restoring Prosperity to Cleveland Mini-Summit" that will be held at the Wolstein Center this Monday, June 8th. The Mini-Summit will focus on addressing Cleveland’s plans for establishing and coalescing around an urban and regional revitalization vision, and the importance of the state’s role and federal resources in achieving that vision. Breakout sessions will engage participants in discussing local actions in five areas – quality of place, housing, infrastructure/transportation, economic engines/innovation and workforce – to help flesh out the state action agenda that was framed in the fall.

For more information or to register click here.