There has been two news stories out of Indianapolis and Cincinnati within the past week that have stuck with me and got me thinking about regulation and its effect on the urban environment. Recently, an Indianapolis planning board denied the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) from installing a new sign which featured a variable message screen outside its headquarters on Washington Street in downtown. Meanwhile, news broke that downtown Cincinnati is finally getting their first dog park, joining the many other wonderful dog parks throughout the City.

First, let me clarify something. The reason why the opening of the dog park was such a big deal in Cincinnati is because of an existing regulation that does not allow dogs on Fountain Square, downtown’s premiere public space. Since this regulation went into effect within the past few years, dog owners have been clamoring for a dog park, and now they have one! So these two stories are directly related, even if it isn’t evident at first glance.

The regulation on Fountain Square banning dogs is something I find particularly interesting and, when it comes down to it, quite ridiculous. Supporters of the law would tell you how such regulation is needed to mitigate dog litter and its associated problems. Opponents of the law (myself) would argue that such regulations dehumanize a public space, discourage users from using a space naturally, and encourage a lack of spatial civic ownership.

Similarly, I find the principles behind the recent decision to ban the IBJ’s sign ridiculous. The urban design guidelines for downtown Indianapolis were created in response to concerns over urban feel and clutter. As a result, signage in downtown Indianapolis must fit certain requirements, be of specific sizes, use certain lettering sizes, and follow various other signage control regulations. Proponents of this regulation would tell you that this law is important to create a desired ‘feel’ for downtown and ensure the streetscapes are consistent. Opponents of such laws (myself) would argue that such regulations encourage homogenous streetscapes, creating predictability and monotony in a place that ought to celebrate the ‘human touch’ and allow for diversity and eclectic environments.

I am an urban planner/designer by trade, and have written signage standards before, so I understand the need for certain regulations in today’s capitalistic society. With that said and with these types of regulations occurring in our urban centers, I think some regulations going too far and see alarming trends happening on a number of levels. General regulations, represented here by the Fountain Square dog ban and the IBJ sign ban, are an attempt to control the use of public spaces and create predictability for its users, the human. The human, being an unmanageable, unique, and complex being, will over time naturally reject such a space. As a result, a human is less likely to form a bond or connection with the space, leading to a lack of civic ownership and sense-of-pride of the space.

With this lack of space ownership or caring comes other users who thrive on abandonment, forcing remedies such as ‘no loitering’ and surveillance through cameras and police officers. Soon enough, this endless cycle of dehumanization spirals out of control and you’re left with a barren, sterile space rid of anything resembling human. On the flip side, if public spaces and associates streetscape elements are completely humanized, allowing users to use the space as they see fit and in various ways, the community will eventually feel ownership of the space. As a result, small tasks like picking up your dog’s crap will become a communal expectation that a user would be held responsible for. Yes, this scenario seems quite idyllic, and critics would argue that while nice on paper, this scenario almost never plays out and users will simply take advantage of the space and its lack of regulations.

I am sure this is true to certain extents in the American city, but my observations in European and North African cities point to the contrary, and show public spaces with little to no obvious regulation, high user count, and a sense of chaos and order all at once. In places as diverse as Iraklion to Tripoli or Amsterdam to Athens, it was my observation there was little to no surveillance of the public spaces (compared to American counterparts). If I had to summarize a typical public place, it would be one of no policemen keeping a watchful eye, no visible cameras watching your every move, and little to no urban designs that obstructed movement throughout the spaces. Further, all space, whether it was public or private, seemed to be integrated into the public realm. There were no signs that said ‘Private Property: Keep Off’ or no security guards banning you from certain places. Essentially, the city’s public spaces felt communal, as if all types and creeds of people were welcome to wander the streets and frequent the businesses.

In particular, the Greek and Libyan public realm seemed to rely not on surveillance and the ‘purifying’ of public spaces but rather allowed a more bottom-up approach to dominate the public sphere. In Athens, Iraklion, and Tripoli, it was my observation that spaces were controlled by the surrounding community and they set the ‘rules of the street’ if you will, where community members were responsible for a hands-off regulatory structure. This way, the space was humanized and owned by the community itself, something that lead to place identity creation and thus a higher user count. Because there was a higher user count, so too was there a higher populace diversity.

This hands-off regulatory structure is something places like Indianapolis and Cincinnati ought to implement. While I am aware that the Midwest is by no means Europe, I do think public spaces in each city could stand to become more humanized and allow users to ‘own’ the space and form an intrinsic identity with public spaces, thus making people more likely to pick up that dog crap off the grounds at Fountain Square. Thus, the regulation itself isn’t needed as the community is by nature and need regulating themselves and from the ‘bottom up’ and not the ‘top down.’  I’ve seen it occur in other places in this world, so why not Indianapolis and Cincinnati? If achieved, a more vibrant, energetic, and urban public realm can be created in these two Midwest cities, something that ought to be attempted for an increasingly urban population.

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Thirty years ago top executives at S&P 500 companies made an average of 30 times what their workers did -- now they make 300 times what their workers make.

That's the kind of statistic a show like Undercover Boss can put flesh and blood on. Here are a few others:

• Since 2000, 3.2 million more American households are trying to make do on under $25,000 a year.
• In 2005, households in the bottom 20 percent had an average income of $10,655, while the top 20 percent made $159,583 -- a disparity of 1,500 percent, the highest gap ever recorded.
• In 2007, the top ten percent pocketed almost half of all the money earned in America -- the highest percentage recorded since 1917 (including, as Henry Blodget notes, 1928, the peak of the stock market bubble in the "roaring 1920s").

(...)

Those are ugly trends, but Americans still want to believe otherwise. Over 60 percent of parents think that their children will have a higher standard of living than they have. And over 70 percent believe that drive and hard work play a bigger role in economic mobility than external factors, such as the income of parents.

Oh Cincinnati, Oh. How I love, love, hate you. Before moving to Indianapolis I spent 2 years living in Cincinnati, Ohio in the neighborhood of Clifton. During this time I gained a true appreciation for what the city is and all the quirks that exist there. What I concluded is that there is a lot to love about the City, but also some things to hate…but more love than hate. Culturally, physically, and emotionally, Cincinnati is an amazingly unique place with a provincial attitude completely different than any other Midwest counterpart. With these oddities and attitudes comes certain social down sides that gives the City a bad reputation and why it ultimately isn’t a creative class destination. Below, I list the positives and negatives of Cincinnati.

We want high speed rail to succeed in the U.S. For one, there’s a lot of time, money, and other resources that have already been spent, or will be soon, on HSR. Also, it has enormous potential to galvanize travel, communities, economies of scale, and even the national economy, not to mention create thousands of desperately-needed jobs.

Which is why we get worried when we hear about HSR plans that are already entering deeply-flawed territory. Like the scenario in Florida, where no agreement has been made about connecting the planned Orlando-Tampa HSR line (which, as you’ll recall, got a whopping $1.25 billion of the federal HSR funds) to SunRail, a 61-mile project that’ll be built on existing CSX tracks from DeLand to Poinicana, running through the east side of Orlando.

According to current plans, the HSR line will follow Interstate 4 and have five stations — none of which link to the SunRail. Which could severely hinder the ability of passengers to use the HSR line to get to their destinations, and consequently put a severe damper on the number of people who use both lines. What’s the point of spending millions on separate train lines in the same area if there’s no way to switch between them? The The Florida DOT is reportedly worried about slowing down travel time on the HSR line — but if passengers aren’t able to access the train with ease, keeping up a lightning-fast speed won’t matter, since no one will ride the train. Plus we’re willing to bet that the average passenger would be willing to add 5 or 10 minutes of travel time for an opportunity to transfer between lines.

There are many things to get excited about when it comes to Bockfest that go beyond the wonderful, oh so wonderful, beer. Some of that excitement should revolve around the many great events and features of the celebration this weekend. While Bockfest truly does not start until Friday evening, things get an early start today. Take a look a UrbanCincy's Bockfest celebration picks below to start planning out your Bockfest lineup.

Mecklenberg Gardens – Tonight, March 3, Cincinnati landmark Mecklenburg Gardens will be hosting the tapping of Hudepohl Bock & Schoenling Bock starting at 5PM. The event is free and open to the public as some lucky folks will be able to get the first few drinks of Hudepohl Bock, the 2009 Bockfest homebrew winner, and Schoenling Bock which returns after nearly a 25 year absence.

Bockfest Parade – The annual Bockfest Parade rolls through the streets of Downtown and historic Over-the-Rhine on Friday evening to officially kick off the weekend’s festivities. The parade will start in front of Arnold’s Bar & Grill at 5:30pm and will head north along Main Street through OTR. You can either watch the parade from along the route or join in as it requires no advance sign up.

Bock Beer – Bock Beer is a centuries old tradition dating back to 14th Century monks that brewed it during Lent while they fasted. It is always a sign of the coming spring and does pack a potent punch. There will be no shortage of Bock beers to try over the weekend including many offerings from Greg Hardman and our friends at Christian Moerlein.

Bockfest Hall – Every year Bockfest Hall is the cornerstone of the festival and this year is no exception. The one thing that is different this year though is that Bockfest Hall is part of what was the historic Kauffmann Brewery near Vine & Liberty streets (map) in Over-the-Rhine. Be a part of history and have a beer in an old Cincinnati brewery that is also rumored for "big" news in the near future.

Arnold's – Cincinnati’s oldest continually operating tavern, Arnold's, will be playing host to entertainment through the weekend, has a special Bockfest menu that is definitely worth checking out, and will feature six Bock beers on tap, the most of any Bockfest establishment.

Free Shuttle – Bockfest Hall & Arnolds are only two of the participating venues at Bockfest, and all weekend a free shuttle (see map above) will run between all of the participating Bockfest establishments. Not only is this beneficial because it gives you access to many venues around the area, but it works great as you can park near any establishment and hop on the shuttle for the night (sounds a little familiar to something else being proposed).

Great Local Music – Great music occurs all weekend long at the participating Bockfest venues, but the one can’t miss act has to be local favorite Jake Speed & the Freddies who will be playing their Cincinnati flavored tunes at Bockfest Hall on Friday evening. Here are the rest of the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday events and bands that can be found at any one of the 13 participating venues.

Great Cincinnati Food – While the 14th Century monks may have brewed Bock beer because they were fasting during lent, you won’t have to. Food can be had at the many fine establishments as well as Bockfest Hall which will feature German food from Mecklenburg Gardens and waffles from Taste of Belgium.

Hudy Bock & the Homebrew Contest – This event, brings together home brewers from around the city to compete in a contest to see who makes the best Bock beer. While many varieties will be judged, the winner of the Traditional Bock category will be honored by Christian Moerlein who will use the recipe for the 2011 version of Hudepohl Bock. The competition starts at noon on Saturday at Bockfest Hall.

The annual Bockfest Parade kicks off the weekend of festivities Friday at 5:30pm - photo by SlimWhitman.

“Little Kings” Sausage Queen Finals – To be held at Bockfest Hall on Saturday evening at 8pm this event is not to be missed as the Sausage Queen of the festival will be crowned. The road to becoming the Sausage Queen includes making it through preliminary rounds that have been held over the last few weeks and is a high honor for whomever is wins the crown. The contest has become legendary and is always lots of fun.

Historic Church Tour – New to Bockfest this year is the Sunday afternoon Historic Church Tour of six of Cincinnati’s most historic churches located in Over-the-Rhine. The tour starts at 2pm and is scheduled to last for two hours. The price of admission to the tour is $20 and includes drink tickets for Bockfest Hall.

Regardless of how much time you spend at Bockfest, it looks to be a great weekend. Temperatures look to be in the mid to upper 40's with clear skies. There will always be something happening, and with the free shuttle getting from place to place should be very easy. So take the time to come have some fun and support Cincinnati's rich brewing history and the time old tradition of the coming of spring with Bockfest 2010.

Photo of Tom Hartman at Mecklenberg Gardens from BuyCincy.

Bockfest is going on all weekend long (which also happens to be my birthday weekend).

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