tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572205562498024454.post2476559808726892874..comments2024-02-12T23:56:11.051-05:00Comments on Daytonology: Louisville Shotgun ReduxJeffereyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01294969786619943530noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572205562498024454.post-77473127239721233502008-07-04T23:19:00.000-04:002008-07-04T23:19:00.000-04:00Jeff, are you still living in Dayton? I know you ...Jeff, are you still living in Dayton? I know you are either a Louisvillian and/or lived there for many years. IIRC work brought you to Dayton, but someone of your obvious talents would certainly be welcome in many places I'm sure - even the 'Ville, perhaps?<BR/><BR/>It would be a great benefit to them to have your fact based approach to civic analysis.The Urbanophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18094204641794131438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572205562498024454.post-50240750748299031282008-07-04T23:02:00.000-04:002008-07-04T23:02:00.000-04:00The point of this post was the degree to which Lou...The point of this post was the degree to which Louivillians value & celebrate their architectural patrimony vs Daytonians' relative indifference to theirs.<BR/><BR/>One can speculate on why that is.<BR/><BR/>I think it has something to do to local indentity narratives, where "idenity/history" in Louisville is perhaps more physical & place-based, vs a more abstract, technological narrative in Dayton.<BR/><BR/>As for larger economic issues, there is more economic capacity in Louisville to make things happen (which includes the central place issues you speak of), so, yes, perhaps not a fair comparison with Dayton. <BR/><BR/> <BR/>Yet some of the Dayton-Louisville parallels are just too obvious not to comment on, like Humanas' move to create a downtown corporate "campus" in mulitiple facitlies, vs a similar missed opportunity in Dayton with Reynolds & Reynolds. <BR/><BR/>BTW, I don't blog that much on Dayton anymore, but I do post on Dayton things at Urban Ohio, if yr interested in Dayton stuff.Jeffereyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01294969786619943530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572205562498024454.post-25747851996876521032008-07-04T11:16:00.000-04:002008-07-04T11:16:00.000-04:00One other thing, embracing a vernacular style has ...One other thing, embracing a vernacular style has good and bad elements. I've always been struck by how Cincinnati has managed to keep so much of its unique local culture versus most American places. It's almost like a European town in that regard. That's something very much to celebrate.<BR/><BR/>However, there seems to be a downside to it. Cincinnati seems to have preserved its local culture through an extreme insularity, conservatism, and indifference to the outside world. Cincy, and to a lesser extent Louisville, has an almost solipsistic attitude towards itself. Can the economic underperformance and relative declines of those places be somewhat pinned on that? Perhaps. Embracing a purely local culture, is, like most things, somewhat of a two-edged sword.<BR/><BR/>I do believe that standing up and being proud of your heritage is something that more Midwestern cities need to do. When you look at the history of Dayton, it's amazing what happened there. Somewhere is an inspiration for the future I've got to believe.The Urbanophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18094204641794131438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572205562498024454.post-64455666650385672362008-07-04T11:12:00.000-04:002008-07-04T11:12:00.000-04:00Nice post. Louisville does have a great architect...Nice post. Louisville does have a great architectural heritage in its central city. And it is certainly proud of itself. Justly so.<BR/><BR/>Louisville's problem is that it has taken pride so far that the city is blinded to its shortcomings and is unwilling to engage in the self-examination necessary to helping the city achieve its potential.<BR/><BR/>Some of your posts seem to take a questioning view of why didn't Dayton follow Louisville, or, why did Louisville not follow Dayton into, more or less, oblivion. I think there's a worthy case study there, though comparing Louisville and Dayton is one of the quickest routes to incurring the wrath of a Louisvillian.<BR/><BR/>Louisville had a number of advantages over Dayton. It was a major riverport so got big early. And it has the urban legacy of that area that Dayton any many similar Midwestern cities do not. It is also the largest city in Kentucky, not the 7th or 8th largest (or whatever) in Ohio. That makes a huge difference. Plus things like the Derby, which Louisville really embraced. And the creative class that lives there. It would be interesting to trace the story arc of Louisville (and Cincinnati) versus that of a more typical Midwestern city.The Urbanophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18094204641794131438noreply@blogger.com