Cincinnati

I moved to Cincinnati in the fall of 2004 to attend the University of Cincinnati. As I said in my last post, I attended to major in Civil Engineering and later changed to Urban Studies. While in school, I have tried to immerse myself in the culture of Cincinnati as much as I could. My freshman year, I was lucky enough to have a car while I lived in the dorms. For nearly the first full year I lived in Cincy, I would drive around every weekend just exploring the city. I would set off in a direction and get myself lost and find my way back to the dorms. This was the way I learned my way around. 


My love for Cincinnati probably comes from where I grew up. Niles & Warren are small cities in northeast Ohio. I grew up in suburban Howland Township just outside Warren and Niles. The area is void of sidewalks and street-life like we are accustomed to in cities. I thought the Olive Garden and Applebee's were high class restaurants. Having a mall literally 2 minutes from my front door brought me up to think that shopping malls were the pinnacle of retail shopping. 


Moving to Cincinnati was some serious culture shock. I instantly fell in love - in love with the hills, the neighborhoods, the people, the architecture, the art scene. Everything. I discovered new foods - you think there are Indian or Vietnamese restaurants in Warren? (I do miss all the Italian food of the Mahoning Valley.) I discovered public transportation. Aside from a high school trip to New York (where I didn't even ride the subway), I had never even seen trains or buses (aside from school buses). Now, I ride Metro to work or school almost everyday. I rarely drive my car anymore. Just once a week to Kroger for my weekly grocery run. 


Ever since discovering UrbanOhio.com, I've also fallen in love with the urban issues revolving around Cincinnati. I have read nearly every article and research document publicly available regarding the Streetcar projects, the Banks, Washington Park renovation, Great American Tower, 3CDC's OTR projects, and many others. I have taken to fighting the good fight on Facebook and other blogs trying to get out the facts about projects that I, after much research and deliberation, have determined to be good and beneficial to the city. And while I am not judge, jury and executioner for the goings-on of the City, and everyone is welcome to their own opinions, I want people to understand that mine are grounded in research and the facts.


I care deeply for Cincinnati. I have defended her to many of my friends (most of whom are native Cincinnatians). I have also made new friends as a result of this. People tend to band together for common causes. We saw this for Issue 9 in 2009 with the coalition of Cincinnatians for Progress. We're seeing it develop again today for those who are looking to salvage a plan for the 3-C Rail Corridor after Governor-elect John Kasich is calling for its death. 


This all has led me to the conclusion that Cincinnatians are a deeply passionate people - about their chili, their politics, their neighborhoods, there high schools - the list goes on and on. 

Welcome

Purpose

This blog is to chronicle a number of things: The things the I do, the articles that I read, my opinions on Urban issues, and my educational journey. Each post will feature text and photos about a specific topic. I will try to provide the facts as I see them. Then I will espouse my opinion. This blog is not meant to be a news blog. It is meant to be an agglomeration of my views and opinions regarding the things going on in our world.

About Me

I am a 24 year old male, living in Cincinnati. I grew up in Niles, Ohio. Where is Niles, Ohio? It's about 1 hour southeast of Cleveland and 1 hour northwest of Pittsburgh and about 15 minutes northwest of Youngstown. I was born in Fremont, CA and my family moved to Ohio when I was about 3 or 4. I don't remember, I was quite young. I attended school in the Howland Local School system in Warren, Ohio. I graduated high school with Honors in 2004 with a 3.749 GPA.

I was accepted in to the Civil Engineering Bachelors Degree Program at the University of Cincinnati for admission in the Fall of 2004. In my second year, I quickly discovered that Civil Engineering was not right for me. While I enjoyed many aspects of it, the transportation engineering, structures, and bridges, I felt that there was something missing. Later, I would discover that what was missing was the human component.

I transferred to the Business Marketing Program in my second year. Mostly, I was just marking time. I felt that I needed to be doing something. I was part-time for the better part of 3 years, and I took a couple quarters off. I worked part-time as a Communications Consultant (read: Sales Person) for Cincinnati Bell at the Nothgate Mall location. The hours made it difficult to attend school and work at the same time. But because the pay was so good, I decided to work and work and work and not focus on school.

Sometime in 2007, I stumbled upon the site UrbanOhio.com. As I read more and more about the things going on in Ohio's cities, as well as cities across the US and worldwide, I slowly developed a passion for Urban Issues.

In March of 2008, I was no longer employed by Cincinnati Bell and was able to devote more time and attention to my schooling. I was still in the marketing degree program, but started to explore my options.

In the spring of 2009, I took my first urban planning class. This was more or less an experimental course choice. I wanted to see if planning was right for me. From the first day, I knew it was. Being surrounded with students who think similarly to me and professors who are extremely knowledgeable about urban planning felt great. For the first time in my college career, I could tell I was in the right classes. Over the next year, I would fill my schedule with all the planning classes I could: studios, seminars, specialty classes, etc. I wasn't actually in DAAP yet, but after talking with the Director of the School of Planning, I got approval to take the Planning classes until I transferred.

My transfer to DAAP - School of Planning occurred just this fall (2010). So far I've taken 4 planning or multidisciplinary studios ranging in topics from Design Graphics Communications to Site Planning and Neighborhood Analysis to Fixed-Rail Transit. In future posts, I plan to go in to further detail about my studio experience. I will say, however, that they have been the best part of my experience so far.

I am currently set to graduate in June of 2011 with my Bachelors of Science in Urban Studies. I have about 3 classes left that I am required to take, but I will be taking several additional classes for a total of 8 between winter and spring quarters. Upon graduation, I will be looking to land a job that is in SOMEWAY related to urban planning, urban studies, or anything urban really.

I am currently employed at Schwartz, Manes, Ruby, & Slovin, LPA as an office clerk. My job is to maintain closed files and their records; order supplies; assist with client meetings, firm meetings, or other firm/attorney needs; and, on occasion, man the front desk. I've work here since July 2010, and I thoroughly enjoy working here. The people are friendly and welcoming. It definitely has a family atmosphere.

I think this is sufficient for now about my school and work experiences. My next blog will talk about my experiences in Cincinnati.