I had been meaning to write about this for some time now, and this recent article from the Columbus Dispatch inspired me to do it now (insert the name Dayton wherever you see the word Columbus):
Poll: Some don’t link ‘burbs, city
Sunday, December 9, 2007 3:28 AM
By Darrel Rowland, Alan Johnson and Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCHIf the core of Columbus and other Ohio cities fail, the problems they’re experiencing will spread to the surrounding suburbs, exurbs and townships, experts warn.
If the core of Columbus and other Ohio cities fail, the problems they’re experiencing will spread to the surrounding suburbs, exurbs and townships, experts warn.
As many as 30,000 central Ohio residents might consider living Downtown, poll results showed. Such "urban pioneers" would help fuel a revival Downtown, attracting stores, restaurants and entertainment to the city’s core, one expert says.
Only about a third of the people who live around Columbus agree that a "strong link" exists between the health of the city and the health of the rest of the central Ohio region, poll results show.
Experts say Ohio’s big cities will never get turned around until people who live in the surrounding suburbs and exurbs realize their areas’ fates are linked to the health of the core city.
Without that understanding, the "why-should-I-care" attitude will not only thwart the cities’ comebacks, but will contribute to a spread of urban problems into the very areas people fled to escape them.
But only about a third of the people who live in the areas surrounding Columbus buy into this concept, judging from a poll by Saperstein Associates. That portion agrees a "strong link" exists between the health of the city and the health of the rest of central Ohio. Another 36 percent see "somewhat of a link."
