Oct 18, 2010 by Loki
Kathy Stockman
Welcome to the latest installment of Voices of Cincy, our ongoing series of guest posts by local writers and bloggers. This week’s guest is Kathy Stockman -An art historian, writer, and critic. She has taught art history at various colleges and universities in Ohio and believe an intellectually engaging discussion on art and culture can and should take place outside of the classroom. You can find her online through her website, Cincinnati Art Snob, or through the Cincy Art Snob Blog.
The discussion of how, why, and when people move from the city to the suburbs and back has gone on for generations. With tomes of research supporting varying arguments, Cincinnati’s politicians, city planners and citizens have gotten into the debate about how to entice people into downtown to live and play (mostly to play). This debate can become extremely caustic. Ugly and personal attacks between east side and west side, between city dwellers and those who live in the suburbs, even between those on opposite sides of the Ohio River leaden any possibility of a set of reasonable observations. The result is not a plan creating long-lasting partnerships between these communities, but a fight to get more people on your side of the debate. Currently, the winning side has adopted a business model of recruitment rather than retention. Strategies such as impact marketing rather than community development are not only shortsighted, but maintain Cincinnati’s historical status as a city of transients.
The Cincinnati Museum Center is a wonderful resource of information on the birth and growth of Cincinnati. A gallery guide notes it as an “instant city” with its wealth of natural resources on the river.
The development of transportation systems naturally responded to the river, and allowed continuous movement of people into and around the river valleys. Further, improved transportation effectively increased immigration and businesses into the city. By the mid 1800s, Cincinnati was the fastest growing city in the west. Of course this fact is perhaps the strongest argument for the current streetcar plan. However, as soon as the 1870s, population began to decline. The irony is that continued improvement of transportation seems to be the cause. According to a history of Over the Rhine newer transportation systems helped decentralize industry and move people out.
But this is not meant to be an argument for or against the streetcar. I’m all for improved transportation. In fact you will never hear me complain about the number of construction projects I drive through daily. What I don’t agree with is this rather simple notion that improved transportation is the cause of Cincinnati’s population dynamic rise and fall throughout its history, so an answer to sustained growth.
The work towards marketing Cincinnati as a place to live is aggressive. Promoting events, things to see and places to eat and drink in the downtown area seems to be working towards bringing people downtown for work and play. Of course, this will always depend on your perspective so not a strong basis for debate. One person may argue downtown has the best restaurants in the city, while another will convincingly claim they know no one who would go downtown to see a play let alone have dinner. But there is no doubt Cincinnati has so much to offer and downtown is vibrant (really….you should visit it and you will see). The problem is not Cincinnati, but the marketing of Cincinnati. Instead of spending
time and money recruiting young professionals who are going to come here anyway for school and work, tell them why they should stay (psst…it’s not for the parties).
More than 5 colleges and universities are within commuting distance of downtown Cincinnati. This brings with it the obvious influx of students each year. Major corporations like P&G, GE, and Kroger recruit large numbers of professionals for internships as well as permanent employment with benefits for young professionals. No additional amount of downtown events and special deals marketed towards 20- and 30-somethings is going to increase this migration to the Queen City. What these events do instead is turn the city into a professional campus, where people can work, play or even live….for now. Powerfully influential groups continue pushing the message to young professionals that Cincinnati is a fun place to hang out. At least until something better comes along.
In the past year, I’ve heard from a handful of young professionals talking about projects on which they are working say, “I’ll see how it goes. If not, it’s experience I can put on my resume that will help me find a job elsewhere if I have to.” National and local businesses see Cincinnati is merely a test market. Our young professionals seem to agree this is the sum worth of the Queen City. Further, this approach towards one’s professional projects is celebrated here as innovation, rather than professional goal setting or mission. This, of course permits an easy out.
Impact development has been adopted as a method of community development. Businesses like to invest in strategies that provide a big bang for its buck. Spending money on sponsoring events that will fill downtown streets provides a bang that can be celebrated with pictures on a website as “proof” of the event’s success, and then can be used as tools for recruiting more people into their businesses, into the city. Such recruitment strategies provide quick and easy outcomes that are neither long-standing nor inexpensive. Impact development is then a misdirected method towards sustaining community.
Educational institutions on the other hand have found that retention programs are not only less expensive, but have positive results lasting generations. Educational retention programs are generally employed to keep the students in school. Strong and healthy social opportunities may keep the student happy enough to not consider transferring to another school, but mentoring programs and the like serve the needs of the student’s academic success no matter the school. While retention’s goal is not so much to secure future support of the school, its long-term result is often monetary for both the student and the institution. How else can schools maintain strong alumni relationships and build strong fundraising machines? Students will often graduate to another school or job, but genuine retention work holds the student as a part of the institution’s community.
With the number of colleges and universities and major corporations in Cincinnati, recruitment and retention already succeeds with a huge academic calendar of events and services throughout the year. If the city wishes to retain these eager and promising professionals, it may want to stop creating a campus environment by duplicating these efforts with competing events and services. The students have graduated and now need a place to stay, not a place to party.
The riverfront has always been fertile ground for sowing ones seeds. Like all cities developed along the water, Cincinnati has long-standing institutions and traditions. Wonderful schools, churches, community and cultural organizations with histories that have lasted generations, each of which begun by immigrant communities who invested in the long-term. It is the stability of community, not the passing party young professionals will be looking for when it is time to call a city their home. But until influential groups abandon shortsighted impact marketing strategies for honest retention efforts, Cincinnati will fail to be recognized as home. Instead, the Queen City will simply be a rite of passage.
Kathy Stockman
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