Monday, October 30, 2006
Something To Smile About
It's not all doom and gloom. The homes you see being renovated in your neighborhoods, the new condos you see popping up in the urban core, where old abanonded warehouses or department stores used to stand... well, those count too.
You see the original numbers provided by the census that estimated that Cincinnati lost 30,000 people from 2000-2005 were not accurate. A flaw in the way they create those estimates almost always leave our spaces that were previously unoccupied, and especially those that were previously not residential.
Well, through the process available by the census, you can challenge those numbers and show proof of uncounted residents. Cincinnati did just that, and has now gone from the 2nd fastest shrinking city (behind only Detroit) to one of the very few cities to have picked up population between 2000-2005. And pretty much the ONLY midwestern city to do so. The is very important, and what's more important, is these numbers STILL don't count the huge number of projects/condos/apartments that have come online in the last year, and are under construction for the next few years.
Cincinnati is growing (while only picking up a small number of residents), this is in the face of the constant new stories about the city failing, crumbling and being crime ridden. Now the REAL question. The Enquirer ran about a dozen stories over a one week span when the original numbers came out... jumping on the doom and gloom story. WIll they put forth a similar 'news' push to highlight the inaccuracy? Will the scream the praise or a city that is accomplishing what most other midwestern cities aren't? Adding new residents!
I guess time will tell... also of note, is today the story about the crime stats lists Cincinnati 18th in crime (behind other midwestern cities like St. Louis and Cleveland). While 18th isn't the best ranking, you'd think we were number 1 if you watched the news nightly and read the Enquirer. I'll be interested in watching the news coverage over the next week to see how much coverage these stories get!
You see the original numbers provided by the census that estimated that Cincinnati lost 30,000 people from 2000-2005 were not accurate. A flaw in the way they create those estimates almost always leave our spaces that were previously unoccupied, and especially those that were previously not residential.
Well, through the process available by the census, you can challenge those numbers and show proof of uncounted residents. Cincinnati did just that, and has now gone from the 2nd fastest shrinking city (behind only Detroit) to one of the very few cities to have picked up population between 2000-2005. And pretty much the ONLY midwestern city to do so. The is very important, and what's more important, is these numbers STILL don't count the huge number of projects/condos/apartments that have come online in the last year, and are under construction for the next few years.
Cincinnati is growing (while only picking up a small number of residents), this is in the face of the constant new stories about the city failing, crumbling and being crime ridden. Now the REAL question. The Enquirer ran about a dozen stories over a one week span when the original numbers came out... jumping on the doom and gloom story. WIll they put forth a similar 'news' push to highlight the inaccuracy? Will the scream the praise or a city that is accomplishing what most other midwestern cities aren't? Adding new residents!
I guess time will tell... also of note, is today the story about the crime stats lists Cincinnati 18th in crime (behind other midwestern cities like St. Louis and Cleveland). While 18th isn't the best ranking, you'd think we were number 1 if you watched the news nightly and read the Enquirer. I'll be interested in watching the news coverage over the next week to see how much coverage these stories get!
Comments:
<< Home
Are other cities counting their previosly undeveloped or newly residential areas? It seems that unless all of the cities are using updated numbers, then we are comparing apples and oranges. It is good news for Cincinnati though, that people are not fleeing the city as quickly as is commonly thought. As a current resident of Oakland, CA, I am excited about returning to the area.
Post a Comment
# posted by 
: 11:05 AM
: 11:05 AM << Home
