WORK IN PROGRESS: BLUEPRINTS FOR AN AMERICAN URBANISM
The Ohio River basin is a geographical boundary; it is apolitical. On a map, Cincinnati extends beyond its basin and confines itself north of the Ohio River. But in everyday life, Cincinnati is defined by its geography and the proximity it shares with Covington and Newport to such an extent that one could argue Cincinnati is more like New York – a singular city with natural geography that defines distinct neighborhoods, a singular organism with identifiable appendages. They function together, live, work, and play as one. Without them, the image of the city is incomplete, and it ceases to be Cincinnati.
So, why do we view Cincinnati as if it functions through a map?
Maps are mere tools for representation—they don’t define how life is lived in reality. If we explore Cincinnati’s natural context, we could redefine how we view and experience the city. Why couldn’t we treat the River Basin as our administrative boundaries? Instead of maintaining three distinct urban cores, what if we shifted administrative power to a singular, coordinated output?
To live in better cities, we should look at exemplars and try to understand what makes them greater places for humans. Cincinnati is young by the standards of other North American cities, let alone global cities. But even in that short time frame, much of Cincinnati’s development was shaped by features more valuable and attuned to human action than automobile and mechanical infrastructure. To investigate how we can make our city more responsive to human life and the future, let’s imagine an urban core that harnesses its geography.
