I saw a couple of recent reposts containing very interesting material from several decades ago in Charlotte and Columbus.
The first is a 25 minute TV special from the 1960s looking at a proposal to issue bonds to fund urban renewal in downtown Charlotte. A few things struck me about this. The first is that despite the video being labeled “Uptown Do or Die” by the local organization that posted it, Charlotte’s central business district is consistently referred to in the video as “downtown” not “uptown” as people do today. It’s interesting to note that the Uptown nomenclature is ahistorical and it makes me wonder when the rebranding took place. Also, there’s an economist in there who makes some prescient remarks.
What’s also notable is the way that the condition of downtown Charlotte is framed and the logic of urban renewal (including street widening, demolitions, etc). Similar rhetoric is used today to justify most major downtown civic initiatives. Also, you can see the business owners who opposed urban renewal at the time, but also one who was initially positive after it happened and he was able to relocate his business into a new strip mall. (It appears perhaps some later footage was spliced in for this).
It’s definitely worth a watch. Click over to watch on YouTube if the video doesn’t display for you.
The second is an article from a 1978 issue of Columbus Monthly magazine called “Columbus’ Inferiority Complex.” The magazine just reposted it, and it’s a great window into the psychology of the city from that period of time. Similar psychologies have driven a lot of the views and decisions of people in some of the Midwest cities by those who remember or came of age in those eras. I’m pretty sure Columbus really was that boring back in the 1970s, but things have changed a lot since then.
Oh, you will find little pockets of boosterism. You’ll find it in official places, of course, like the Chamber of Commerce and various business and civic organizations … and you’ll find it in private places, like a small but-comfortable living room in Wyandotte North Apartments on the far north side where a middle-aged man is saying, “Sure I like Columbus. It’s an easy city to live in. It’s easy to go out and eat, easy to go to a movie, easy to get to the airport. There’s no hassle here.” Or the younger man, sitting in a large, sunlit study in a Sessions Village home: “Columbus is a terrific place to be right now. Ten years from now, it’s going to be one of the really great cities in the country. People are doing things here. The economy is stable, the racial situation has always been good, politics and government are clean, there’s a tremendous amount of building going on Downtown.”
There is an old parody of an old saying, though, which a lot of Columbus people seem to believe fits this city unusually well: “It’s a great place to live, but I wouldn’t want to visit here.”
Much is implied. That old wisecrack seems to acknowledge all the frequently-heard comments about Columbus being an easy place to live. It says, too, that the city is a safe place to live—physically and mentally. But the point of it is that Columbus is also a … well, a blah city. That nothing ever really happens here. That we have nothing to be famous for—no Superdome, no Guggenheim Museum, no Golden Gate Bridge, no Disney World, no White House, no San Andreas Fault … not even the Cincinnati Reds, Kings Island, Maisonette Restaurant, Cleveland Browns or Cleveland Orchestra. John Denver has never sung the praises of our terrain. We host a big tennis tournament and the stands sink into the mud, and the only way Columbus (that’s “Columbus, Ohio”) gets mentioned by David Brinkley is if the city gets hit by a foot and a half of snow… at the same time everybody else gets hit.
These are some of the things that prey heavily upon people’s minds as they gaze out the windows of their homes and offices and think to themselves, “God, what a hick town.” Some of them substitute “one-horse town” for “hick town.” Some of them substitute a one-word expletive for the whole thing.
The simple fact is that Columbusites have a whopping inferiority complex.
Click through to read the whole thing.
There is something ‘missing’ in the view of may who live in Columbus’. I think at it’s heart is that many in Columbus demonstrate that they would rather be somewhere else. Columbus is their second choice, at least, and their ambivalence about Columbus guides the way they engage others in Columbus. Many of the younger and/or gay men I’ve met in Columbus really want to live in big gay meccas like Chicago of cities on the coasts. I’m gay and when I lived in Columbus in the early 2000s, gay men would joke with each other about the seeming conveyor belts that seemed to constantly be moving gay men between Columbus and Chicago. On the other hand, many middle class professionals that I’ve met in Columbus let it be known that they’d really rather be in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, or many of the other smaller places within a few hundred miles of Columbus where they grew up and where many of their friends and family still are. For the first group, Columbus is seen as a stepping stone to the big city, for the later, it is seen as a way to get a decent job while being able to return home frequently. Middle class families that do come from a greater distance have often followed a transfer or for a new job from larger and/or more expensive cities. The come to Columbus for it’s low cost of living and good supply of middle income jobs. None of these are motivated by a desire to be in Columbus as such. My time in Austin and Nashville showed me that this is just not true in either of these cities. Many people in both somehow seem to want to be there and don’t express the sense of loss or dispossession that many in Columbus clearly express. The Columbus boosters’ experiences are responding to the sense of loss and dispossession that they often encounter in Columbus. They believe in Columbus’ potential and become frustrated that most of their neighbors and coworkers don’t share their views. At the heart of all of this is culture, not economics, population statistics, or the size of buildings. Austin , Nashville, Denver, Raleigh, and other such cities seem to give a their residents a reason and an experience around which to come together. Columbus doesn’t. No single thing will do that. People have to see a reason to invest socially and emotionally in their lives in a place. Haranguing people for not joining the ‘church of columbus’ won’t work. You need to attract them to shared identities and institutions. Man does not live by good job in quiet neighborhood alone.
I think, if anything, Columbus suffers from being lumped in with the national perception of Ohio. Ohio just isn’t considered a sexy place. It’s viewed as the epicenter of average. And I think some people are realizing that if Ohio wants to take that next step to keep up with the Joneses, maybe the state as a whole needs to get working on sprucing up its image with a good PR campaign.
I’m always amazed by how well the Pure Michigan ad campaign has worked at getting Midwesterners to look at my home state of Michigan as a destination for nature. I’ve met quite a few visitors from Indiana and Ohio that cited that Pure Michigan ads as a motivating factor for visiting the state.
Now Ohio needs to get out there and make the country understand why it’s great. I think Columbus has a lot of the same raw ingredients as city as Austin or Nashville. But most of the people I know have no idea about the cool urban neighborhoods in Columbus. And they’d be absolutely shocked to find out you can drive 40 minutes to Clear Creek and experience gorgeous Appalachian foothills. The assumption is that Columbus is a boring suburban city in an expanse of exceptionally flat farmland. But that’s really an incomplete picture.
They don’t know about Columbus “cool” neighborhoods because they see no reason to know. The desire has to come before people will make the effort to know a place. They need a reason.
@ Matt
I am not sure the Research Triangle is all that different from Columbus, having lived there. The people who live there do seem to like it, but outside of some folks in Durham, people are not super attached to the metropolitan area. However, given that for many people living in the Triangle they are either coming from the rural South, the Rust Belt, or the Acela Corridor, I think they are more satisfied with the trade offs they have made by choosing to live in the area. For the folks from the Rust Belt, they get both a better climate and better jobs, at the cost of a dearth of an urban environment and distance from family. Acela corridor folks get shorter commutes, decent jobs, better climate, and more affordable housing, and schools of acceptable quality. The folks from the rural south get better jobs and better schools, and more urban amenities, and most seem to have the realistic attitude that the small towns they came from could never provide the same opportunities as the Triangle. Plus they are still close enough by to visit family. However, I don’t think this adds up to a stronger identity, just that people are happier about the trade offs they have made. I am not sure about how immigrants feel about the area, in spite of having had several as neighbors. I think they appreciate the job opportunities and that nobody really cares that they are foreigners. The schools probably help too.
I don’t have much experience with North Carolina. It may be more like Columbus than Nashville, Austin, and Denver. The fact that it’s not that far from other urban centers does support my idea that successful metros need a sufficiently large ‘sphere of influence’ in which to operate. If the competition is too close it necessarily pulls away some investment, people, and social attention that would otherwise come to it. That’s the problem of both Indy and Columbus.
Matt:
Hi, interesting comments. I agree that the Austins and Nashvilles of the world have cultivated a brand that Columbus hasn’t, and I think that makes people here feel insecure. I have a few thoughts on this.
Every place is lacking something. I guess I can understand that some people are only here for a job or family and would leave otherwise. But generally people need to pick what they want and own it, not pick one place and complain that it’s not another place. If they really don’t like it they should find what they do like and go there-I know that sounds snarky, but I’m just trying to be honest. I would give anyone that advice to anyone, anywhere.
I think it’s instructive to look at a few “categories” of cities to see where Columbus might lack and make people feel insecure, despite the fact they stay:
1-World Class Cities-these have the urban density and heft, history AND dynamic economies- think NY, SF. They are rare and super-expensive, because they offer a lot. But they are crowded and expensive because they’re big attractions.
2-Legacy Cities-These have some of the urban heft and building form of world class cities, but not the dynamism. Cleveland, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are good examples. They have very specific cultures and not many outsiders, which as Aaron has pointed out makes them less open to growth and innovation. But they look/feel cool, and those who leave may miss the distinctive culture in which they were raised.
3- New Growth Cities-These don’t have the urban heft and density, but DO have the dynamism. Columbus falls here, as do Indy and places like Charlotte and Raleigh. Easier to live in, but less “cool” factor. Ironically, Columbus has a much better urban fabric than many southeastern or western growth cities, but has a complex because it’s inferior to most surrounding Midwestern cities.
4-Brand Cities-These are growing cities that don’t have the urban fabric and density, but DO have a great brand. Austin, Nashville, Portland. These cities are unique in that they have a brand that says “We’re not super-big, old and dense, but we’re cool enough it doesn’t matter.” This is what most New Growth cities WANT to be, but it’s super-hard to do, so there are only a few.
I moved here from the east coast and Columbus was definitely not my first choice to stay permanently. I got married to an Ohio girl and was like “OK I guess I’m here.” I think that happens to a lot of people, or at least did. It took a few years before I really started to become a “disciple” so to speak. Columbus doesn’t always impress on the surface but has something that keeps a lot of people here-they dynamism has a lot to do with it. It’s kind of like a plain looking car. You go “eh, it’s there”, until you drive it and then realize it’s got a great engine and drives really well. Although I have to admit to still missing the “big city feel” of the east coast at times.
Columbus also doesn’t have very good what I call Macro-civic institutions, like sports teams, museums, etc. It’s got a few, but most nearby cities and high growth cities have better. However it does have good Micro-civic fabric, which would be things like restaurants, bars, etc. and really good neighborhoods. I think that’s why you need to be here a while to appreciate it.
In terms of the gay population, Columbus has a strong one, but I can see how places like Chicago would be a big draw. If you’re a professional single or couple without kids, as I believe the majority of gay couples are, then an urban fabric and Macro-cultural institutions becomes more important. It’s like being a permanent empty nester-good income and no kids to worry about. I think having kids makes Columbus much more attractive because it has enough to keep you from getting bored but is affordable enough and has good jobs to put you in a good position financially. That’s not sexy, but it’s a real thing.
So maybe something is missing here, but almost everyplace has something missing, especially if you’re comparing them to Chicago or SF. Yet millions of people don’t live in those places. I think this hyper-stratification that’s occurring makes people afraid that if they’re not in THE PLACE then they’re missing out. But not everyone can live in THE PLACE or it just becomes A place. Let’s just own flat, fairly suburban, not sexy but dynamic, young and interesting Columbus and keep moving forward. Make it better for our sake, not to impress others. I think confidence goes a long way towards making a brand.
What are the finances like for the various municipalities, counties, and school districts like in Columbus? What is the state of the infrastructure? The reason I ask is that it seems that Columbus, simply by virtue of being located in a region with a stagnant population size and not too much migration from other regions or countries, will cease to have population growth in the not too distant future. Once that growth stops, it usually becomes harder to finance local government and infrastructure.
That’s too simplistic. Successful cities adapt. They can grow in a certain way for a time and then shift gears and grow in another way in a later period. NYC did just that in the 1990s.
The Columbus area has the best local finances, schools, and infrastructure in Ohio and well beyond. What other metro is it’s equal in these respects within even 500 miles? Indy is clearly inferior in schools and infrastructure. The northside of metro Chicago is wonderful in many ways, but local finances are bad.
I do find it interesting that Columbus and Indianapolis have such similar population, job growth, and even educational attainment trends. Frankly, I agree with you that structurally Columbus is at a significant advantage to Indy. Yet its performance in the 2010s is only marginally better. It would be interesting to do a thorough comparison of these cities, historically, culturally, economically, politically, etc. Lots of superficial similarities but also important differences.
To me the biggest structural advantage Columbus has over Indianapolis is being the location of the state’s single flagship public university. IUPUI is nice and all (I went there!) but outside the med school there isn’t anything that changes the city’s culture appreciably. It’s also an advantage for Columbus that tOSU has no public peer in the state, where Indiana, about 65 percent of the population of Ohio, has fairly equal flagships in Indiana and Purdue.
Ohio’s local government structures encourage local governments in Columbus to provide superior schools, libraries, parks, etc. those those in Indy. I think that’s an issue of the way local government is organized in each state. Local governments have to do more in Ohio and that’s why Columbus’ public schools, libraries, police, parks are better than Indy’s.
Everything I’ve seen shows the Columbus has higher property values and a larger increase in the number of housing units than Indy. I think the superior public services have something to do with that, but I also that that the distance from any other place offering a better mix of jobs, social life, and public services is part of it, too. If you live on Indy’s favored north side, you can be in the Chicago area in less than 3 hours by car. That has to work to pull away the more ambitious and mobile professionals from Indy. Being in Columbus means you don’t have any serious competition with the partial and deeply ‘uncool’ exception of Cincy’s favored northeastern side. Geography matters and Columbus’ competition is far enough away that being in Columbus gives a company or an individual a large region in which they don’t have to compete for workers or investment.
I have never met anyone who’s first choice IS Columbus. That’s my point. You need a critical mass of people who are willing to invest in it socially and politically. Once Columbus gets that, there’s no stopping it.
Yes, the ‘sexy’ is part of this. Sexy really means ‘object of desire’ or in this context, the visceral experience of a place.That’s what Columbus needs. It needs to offer ‘an experience’. For gay people from a socially traditional region, it offers that, but for others it doesn’t. Even for gays, Columbus is often just a stepping stone to the ‘real gay centers’ on the coasts and in Chicago. Even they are willing to invest only so much in Columbus.
When you stop trying to impress others, you die. Columbus’ growth is built on ‘impressing others.’ It just a matter of how to do that.