Research Toward Urban Solutions for the 21st Century

UC’s Institute for Community Partnerships and the Economics Center for Education and Research are two of the participants unveiling a plan for rejuvenating one of Cincinnati’s most historic neighborhoods.

Date: 10/19/2009 12:00:00 AM
By: Wendy Beckman
Phone: (513) 556-1826

The University of Cincinnati Institute for Community Partnerships, the Economics Center for Education & Research, the Mt. Auburn Community Council and Mt. Auburn Chamber of Commerce will unveil a retail market study focused on attracting retail and housing development to the historic Mt. Auburn neighborhood.

Findings of the “Mt. Auburn Retail Market Study” will be presented to the public from 6 – 8 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 20, at The Christ Hospital Auditorium, 2139 Auburn Ave. This study will provide the Mt. Auburn community with the data needed to make informed decisions to drive economic growth in the neighborhood.

In conducting the Mt. Auburn Retail Market Study, the Economics Center compared Mt. Auburn to similar neighborhoods that have major medical centers within their boundaries. The comparison cities were Atlanta; Chicago; New Haven, Conn.; St. Paul, Minn.; and Washington, DC.

This approach accounts for both the lifestyle-based consumer preferences of area residents and the presence of the hospital as a major employer, traffic generator and source of retail demand.

The business types with the greatest potential for success are eating places and food services; gift, book, and music stores; as well as clothing and related merchandise stores.

“Working collaboratively with community leaders and having active involvement and support from The Christ Hospital made this a great experience for all participants, and the result is a very solid analysis that can be used to guide business development efforts,” said Jeff Rexhausen, associate director of research at the Economics Center for Education & Research at the University of Cincinnati. “We have developed a state-of-the-art approach, grounded in industry best practices, in order to identify realistic opportunities for neighborhood retail expansion.”

The market data from the Mt. Auburn analysis have identified substantial potential for new retail businesses in the Mt. Auburn neighborhood, the hilltop gateway between downtown and uptown Cincinnati.

“The study was based on practical, well-grounded methodology,” said Rexhausen. “It should serve their business district well.”

In addition to the study rollout, a panel will be available Tuesday night to address issues about the market potential, financing and other considerations for creating and sustaining a viable business district within Mt. Auburn. Scheduled panelists include

• Roxanne Qualls, Cincinnati City Council member
• Jeannie Golliher, president and CEO, Cincinnati Development Fund
• Michael Cervay, director, City of Cincinnati Community Development Dept.
• John Rickert, Ricor Development and local business recruitment strategist
• Holly Dorna, president of the Mt. Auburn Chamber of Commerce
• Freeman McNeal, president of the Mt. Auburn Community Council

What: Mt. Auburn Retail Market Study
Where: The Christ Hospital Auditorium, 2139 Auburn Ave.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 20, 5:30 – 8 p.m.

About the UC Institute for Community Partnerships
The University of Cincinnati established the Institute for Community Partnerships in 1990 in the College of Education with funding from the Ohio Urban University Program to support faculty applied research in solving urban problems ranging from physical to social issues.

About the Economics Center for Education and Research
The Economics Center for Education & Research is a not-for-profit organization affiliated with the University of Cincinnati. Its vision is to build a vibrant community by inspiring students to appreciate and use their economic freedom and opportunities. Its work in the community is carried out through educational outreach in local schools that enhances financial literacy and builds an entrepreneurial spirit in students.

The Mt. Auburn Retail Market Study was conducted by the University of Cincinnati Economics Center for Education and Research in collaboration with, and funded by, the UC Institute for Community Partnerships, with additional support from The Christ Hospital and the Economics Center for Education and Research at the University of Cincinnati.

A Black Man Buying 500 billion dollars worth of goods and services!!! In one year.

Barack Obama's first fiscal year has started. The US Gov will purchase over 500 billion dollars worth of goods and services in Fiscal year 2010.

FACTS

• GDP $14.441 trillion ie The US Economy
• 40.7 million[African American Citizens of the United States [^[1]13.5% of the total U.S. population]
• African American Business Receipts with a combined buying power of over $892 billion currently and likely over $1.1 trillion by 2012.[
• In 2002 African-American owned businesses accounted for 1.2 million of the US's 23 million businesses.
• The 1.2 million black-owned businesses in the United States employe more than 756,000 people and generate nearly $89 billion in business revenues.
  
• Almost 4 in 10 black-owned businesses (38 percent) were owned by women.
• New York had the most black owned firms, followed by California, Florida, Georgia, and Texas

To: The Citizens of the United States

From: Dr. Robert Day, Convener, National Fairness and Growth Symposiums and Joseph Debro, General Chairman, National Fairness and Growth Campaign Committee

50 years or is it 400 Years = less than 1% (ie .99%) nationally according to the US Census Bureau or less than a half of one percent (ie .4955%) in Ohio of all business revenue earned by African Americans. What has been the ramifications and implications of these shameful, tragic figures on the economic health of black communities and the country as a whole?

Now is the time for a change.

The ramifications and the implications of these shameful, tragic figures on the economic health of Black communities are staggering. This lack of economic parity has led to higher crime rates, higher rates of imprisonment, higher rates of unemployment and lower educational achievement. This downward spiral in the Black community effects the whole country.

This letter is written to inform the country of the steps that our virtual organization has taken and our plans for the future. We think that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and its counterpart, other recovery initiatives, the general budget provides an opportunity to redress some of the systemic and personal economic equalities.

The National Fairness and Growth Campaign has created a grassroots campaign of practitioners who have a long term operational knowledge of past practices . These business people are very familiar with the philosophies, strategies, approaches, programs and projects ostensibly designed to address the history and practices of discrimination towards African Americans that levels the playing field. By extension we also address discriminatory practices towards other groups

The National Fairness and Growth Campaign will be a significant advocate for the "greening" of America especially in its vulnerable communities. The Campaign does not have negative presumptions regarding current planning or execution of the Congress or President Obama’s administration budget or initiatives. We seek to provide solutions gained from the hard earned insight into potential enforcement of existing public laws, regulations, new initiatives and programs through the use of “Best Practices” that level the playing field(s).

The National Fairness and Growth Campaign seeks not to have negative presumptions regarding the current planning or execution of the ARRA and TARP or the FY 2010 general budget. We seek to provide solutions gained from the hard earned insight into potential enforcement of existing public laws, regulations and new initiatives and programsthrough the use of “Best Practices” to Erase the Digital Divide.

In erasing the Digital divide we reject the notion that there is not available a shovel ready American next generation workforce ready to be trained. We are calling on creating a public private partnership that would oversee a possible investment of over $260,000,000,000 in a million American youth over a ten year period starting no later than December 31, 2010 is made to create a next generation workforce in 25 Urban Areas, 25 Statewide Rural Regions and 10 Native American Tribal lands.

This is a follow up to our previous symposium regarding our concerns and hopes relative to the very fast moving American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan (ARRP), now public law as of February 17th, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and its counterpart the TARP initiatives and implementation of the FY2010 Budget.

It is our plan to develop aoer the next two weeks a development strategy that will support over a million students on connected campus around the nation. It would also connect a total of 500 million people via our global public private sector distance learning infrastructure that will Erase the Digital Divide. This includes 200 million people living in the United States and 300 million people in other countries. It is to be built a multinational shovel ready patent protected next generation third frontier digital infrastructure that supports a logistics infrastructure built around the United States Postal Service.

It will be financed in it's prototype state by a 200 million dollar underwriting according to the Principles and Findings of the National Fairness and Growth Campaign and all current federal state and local laws, including Presidential order in force as approved by the US Attorney General.

All this will be financed as a private public partnership under current federal law, agency and department funding and Presidential Orders. It will employ over 60,000 people by September 2010. It is our goal starting with Cincinnati to enroll a million people in schools and colleges by December 2010 to become part of the Change in Americas workforce.