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Scary Neighborhoods

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Started 4 years ago by columbus
Latest reply from uncoolcynthia

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Urban geographer Richard Fusch, of Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, said some people live far from the urban core because "America has an anti-urban bias" that feeds off frequent news reports about crime. "People are scared to live in the old central cities," Fusch said.
I totally agree. Fear could be the biggest "killer" of historic neighborhood growth (no pun intended). As someone I know said, America eats dinner to "Murder, Weather, and Sports at 6:00." But is this unfair to the media who is simply reporting what's going on? What do you think?
From: Stunted growth
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/02/04/Annex08.ART_ART_02-04-08_B1_R6980SR.html?sid=101

Posted 4 years ago #
captain janks
south side 4 life
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sometimes when i tell people i live on the south side about a block from parsons, they give me a look like i should be wearing a flak jacket and carrying an AR-15. :roll:
the WORST thing thats happened to me in the 4 years ive been here is someone stole my bookbag out of my car. but that was 100% my fault for a) leaving it in there and b) leaving it unlocked while i ran into my house for a minute.
thats it.
its not like i live in basra or sarajevo :roll:
my conclusion: people who live in the burbs are pussies.

Posted 4 years ago #
enzo

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Based on my experience, it is scary what happens to your soul living in suburbia if you do not stay connected to the core of the city.

Posted 4 years ago #
gramarye
In Exile
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The crime statistics don't lie, and it's not going to convince anyone to dissemble or equivocate about them. Even the above poster's post is instructive; in the suburbs, you can generally leave a bookbag in a car for a bit without it vanishing.
Where I grew up, people left their doors unlocked at night a fair amount of the time. My folks didn't, because we were Philadelphia transplants. But others did.
I think the anti-urban bias rests on a bit more than fear, and I think it's dangerous to just pooh-pooh it as a symptom of a bunch of intestinally effeminate yuppies. There is crime. There are definitely poor schools; if you have three kids, you get a lot more for your money buying a 4-br house in Hillard and sending your kids to Darby or Davidson than buying a 4-br house in a neighborhood of Columbus that you could afford and paying for three kids to go to private school for 13 years. There are neighborhoods of Columbus that practically look like suburbs, so there's not so much of a shift when you cross into the real suburbs; you certainly wouldn't get an "urbanist" lifestyle living in many areas of Columbus. There are places with boarded-up buildings, cracked sidewalks, and, yes, drugs and guns.
We've managed to carve out a comparatively small island against that kind of thing in the central neighborhoods, and that island is spreading. I'm as bullish as anyone on continuing to spread it. However, compared to the whole length and breadth of Columbus, we have to keep in mind that the experiences and lifestyles of many on these boards are not representative of Columbus generally.

Posted 4 years ago #
Coremodels
Really close to Explorer's Club.
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People feed on fear, period. Growing up, I was subjected to the result of one of the most horrific crimes in the area's history, a child abduction/rape/murder. Interestingly, the girl and her family had actually bought the house my family owned and I lived in as a younger child. People freaked out, the area was dangerous, you can't walk the streets, have your kids in before dark, blah blah blah.
that was Upper Arlington in the 70's.

Posted 4 years ago #
lifeliberty
Here
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everytime I go over my brothers house in pickerington, and even before when he lived in reynoldsburg his garage door was always open and he has tons of stuff in there, and nothing was ever stolen.
I could never do that in my neighborhood. someone stole the downspouts off my garage for the aluminum ( I guess) and my garden hose out of my backyard. if it isn't locked down it willl vanish.
and the city is a headache. I can deal with it no problem, but the older I get the less I feel the need to do so.
it's easier for me to drive to the suburbs and get free parking in a lot to go to mongolian BBQ than it is for me to try to find parking and then pay for it in the arena district. it's the same food, only easier.
I've lived in the city for 15 years, but lately I really have been liking the benefits of suburbs, it's just easier. but the one major drawback I see would be the commute to work since I work downtown, that would suck (for me at least) i like the convienience of not being in rush hour traffic for very long.(10-15 minutes at the most on 71)

Posted 4 years ago #
Cyclist
Peach District (State of Mind)
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I think most suburbs are scary with all the loud cars that could easily kill cyclists, pedestrians, and other motorists.
I lived on Hamlet St in IV last year are often never locked my doors and left the windows open for months. I was not worried about thieves. I would feel bad aout anyone trying to rob me becasue they would not get much. My most valuable possesion is my bicycle followed by my bed and Led-Zeppelin Box set.

Posted 4 years ago #
bayrea
Dublin, Oh
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lifeliberty wrote
it's easier for me to drive to the suburbs and get free parking in a lot to go to mongolian BBQ than it is for me to try to find parking and then pay for it in the arena district. it's the same food, only easier.
I think the real problem is your eating at Mongolian BBQ....

Posted 4 years ago #
KSquared
Literally Hell
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gramarye wrote
There are definitely poor schools; if you have three kids, you get a lot more for your money buying a 4-br house in Hillard and sending your kids to Darby or Davidson than buying a 4-br house in a neighborhood of Columbus that you could afford and paying for three kids to go to private school for 13 years.
This hits the nail on the head for me. It is the entire reason I live in the burbs. I am downtown almost every weekend, a regular shopper at the North Market, and patronize lots of local stores. My daughter loves downtown and we would both love to live there. The rub is that I cannot afford private school and a place to live for the two of us. If Columbus public schools were a viable alternative, that would change a great deal.

Posted 4 years ago #
lifeliberty
Here
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bayrea wrote
lifeliberty wrote
it's easier for me to drive to the suburbs and get free parking in a lot to go to mongolian BBQ than it is for me to try to find parking and then pay for it in the arena district. it's the same food, only easier.
I think the real problem is your eating at Mongolian BBQ....
:lol:
I frickin love that place. I only eat there like maybe 6 times a year, but I always want it from the time I leave there till i get there again.
but you bettr know what you are doing or you can come up with some really bad flavors.
I can cook, but I just don't keep that variety of foods/spices/sauces in my house anymore.

Posted 4 years ago #
Ndcent
OTE
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KSquared wrote This hits the nail on the head for me. It is the entire reason I live in the burbs. I am downtown almost every weekend, a regular shopper at the North Market, and patronize lots of local stores. My daughter loves downtown and we would both love to live there. The rub is that I cannot afford private school and a place to live for the two of us. If Columbus public schools were a viable alternative, that would change a great deal.
50% drop out rate doesn't do it for you, eh?

Posted 4 years ago #
osulew
My house...in the middle of my street
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KSquared wrote
gramarye wrote
There are definitely poor schools; if you have three kids, you get a lot more for your money buying a 4-br house in Hillard and sending your kids to Darby or Davidson than buying a 4-br house in a neighborhood of Columbus that you could afford and paying for three kids to go to private school for 13 years.
This hits the nail on the head for me. It is the entire reason I live in the burbs. I am downtown almost every weekend, a regular shopper at the North Market, and patronize lots of local stores. My daughter loves downtown and we would both love to live there. The rub is that I cannot afford private school and a place to live for the two of us. If Columbus public schools were a viable alternative, that would change a great deal.
I think that the public schools will continue to be a joke until enough young professional people move into the urban areas and demand something better for these schools for their kids. As long as people with kids stay in the 'burbs, I don't think the schools will ever change. I'm sure these changes can't happen overnight, but I think if people in their 20's now refuse to move in order to raise kids, it could be a step in the right direction. Parents that are very involved with their kids at home can also do a great deal to offset schools that maybe are lackluster. I think also that the life lessons and non "book smarts" that kids living in a city learn are invaluable as well.
However, I don't have kids, so maybe I'm an overly optimistic idiot. You can tell me so....won't hurt my feelings.

Posted 4 years ago #
dnm
Merion Village
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I spent 20 years in grove city, and while there, we had a window shot out with a bb gun, our trees tp's our cars broken into etc..
And now that Im in Mv, the only thing that has happend since I moved in was someone took 2 of my aluminum 10 foot downspouts off my front porch...
Crime is everywhere, sometimes more predominate in other areas, but it is everywhere in one form or another

Posted 4 years ago #
lifeliberty
Here
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Ndcent wrote
50% drop out rate doesn't do it for you, eh?
maybe it's the "How to build a shank from a coffee mug" required curriculum in Shop Class that is the turn off?

Posted 4 years ago #
Porky
C-Bus' East Side
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I grew up in what was, and still is, considered one of the worst neighborhoods in town. On the southeast side of the city, where Whittier dead ends into Rhodes, yeah scary stuff. It's called the Driving Park area and routinely has one of the highest crime rates in the city. The biggest problem is the damn theives, if it's not locked down they will steal it! And get away with it!
My parents house was broken into/burglarized 7 TIMES growing up there...
You start locking up these punks for "petty crime" and eventually it will add up, the police are so apathetic over there most of the times when we were victims of crime they treated us like criminals :x

Posted 4 years ago #
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gramarye wrote However, compared to the whole length and breadth of Columbus, we have to keep in mind that the experiences and lifestyles of many on these boards are not representative of Columbus generally.
Or America generally. There is a great journal article from the Journal of American Planning Association by Catherine Bauer that I have been fascinated by for years called "Do Americans Hate Cities? She chronicles foreign visitors who were perpetually astonished by the abandonment of the urban landscape who concluded that Americans must hate their cities or else they wouldn't look and function the way they do. It was written in 1957, 51 years ago when cities were much more intact than they are today.
You are right-- many people on this site love Columbus and the old neighborhoods. Most others couldn't care less.

Posted 4 years ago #
The Hegemo
Delusions of Grandview
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This is a fairly decent book about how the media represents cities in the U.S., and the extent to which they feed the CITY = SCARY feeling that a lot of people hold:
http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/M/macek_urban.html
I'd still say that Columbus doesn't have quite as much trouble with people holding exaggerated fears of downtown as Cincinnati does. But it's definitely out there.

Posted 4 years ago #
Coremodels
Really close to Explorer's Club.
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Porky wrote You start locking up these punks for "petty crime" and eventually it will add up, the police are so apathetic over there most of the times when we were victims of crime they treated us like criminals :x
while I sympathize with your experience, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about when it comes to incarceration and the effect of it.

Posted 4 years ago #
Andrew Hall
Dennison Place (The Circles)
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osulew wrote Parents that are very involved with their kids at home can also do a great deal to offset schools that maybe are lackluster. I think also that the life lessons and non "book smarts" that kids living in a city learn are invaluable as well.
However, I don't have kids, so maybe I'm an overly optimistic idiot. You can tell me so....won't hurt my feelings.
You're an overly optimistic idiot. As were we went started our son in CPS, where he still is for now.
CPS is just fucked up even beyond the obvious*. They ditched a very good district-wide reading program after one year of touting to the sun (and it was good). That really builds credibility w/ parents. There is a general attitude that parents are stupid and the educational establishment knows best.
The life lessons stuff ... yeah, we thought that too. I have misgivings about what lessons are really being learned there. Beyond that, those lessons don't make up for a systematic failure to teach. "Don't you have homework anymore?" "She stopped giving it to us because almost noone was turning it in." Yeah - that is a recipe for educational excellence.
It is nice to say in the abstract about getting involved and improving CPS. But the reality on the ground is that they really don't want it and resent it.
A.
* We have had some good teachers and good experiences to be fair and I do know there are some even better schools and programs, if you get lucky.

Posted 4 years ago #
KSquared
Literally Hell
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osulew wrote
KSquared wrote
gramarye wrote
There are definitely poor schools; if you have three kids, you get a lot more for your money buying a 4-br house in Hillard and sending your kids to Darby or Davidson than buying a 4-br house in a neighborhood of Columbus that you could afford and paying for three kids to go to private school for 13 years.
This hits the nail on the head for me. It is the entire reason I live in the burbs. I am downtown almost every weekend, a regular shopper at the North Market, and patronize lots of local stores. My daughter loves downtown and we would both love to live there. The rub is that I cannot afford private school and a place to live for the two of us. If Columbus public schools were a viable alternative, that would change a great deal.
I think that the public schools will continue to be a joke until enough young professional people move into the urban areas and demand something better for these schools for their kids. As long as people with kids stay in the 'burbs, I don't think the schools will ever change. I'm sure these changes can't happen overnight, but I think if people in their 20's now refuse to move in order to raise kids, it could be a step in the right direction. Parents that are very involved with their kids at home can also do a great deal to offset schools that maybe are lackluster. I think also that the life lessons and non "book smarts" that kids living in a city learn are invaluable as well.
However, I don't have kids, so maybe I'm an overly optimistic idiot. You can tell me so....won't hurt my feelings.
While I agree with the spirit of what you are saying, and I think that some of the life experiences are valuable, it is hard to make a stand when it is your child's future on the line and the grade cards coming back on the schools indicate that Columbus public schools are doing a terrible job. I am very involved at home, and I believe strongly in parental responsibility for education, but unless I choose to home school, that does not make up for a subpar education from a place where the child spends a large chunk of his or her day.

Posted 4 years ago #