I’ve lived in Downtown Dayton for almost five and a half years, and since then I’ve seen a number of ups and downs here in the urban core. Back in 2003 the city was full of buzz as Fifth Third Field, Riverscape and the Schuster Performing Arts Center were fairly new and downtown housing seemed to be gaining momentum. Shortly afterwards, downtown development slowed to a crawl. My faith in this city has gone up and down like a roller coaster, and I’ve often questioned whether or not the urban core of Dayton would ever realize the enormous potential I’ve always seen. However, this has not stopped my continued involvement in various initiatives to make things better, and the latest effort I’m involved with has given a boost to my faith in the future of Downtown Dayton.
The “Greater Downtown Dayton Plan” is a very ambitious initiative that was started by Dr. Mike Ervin last year. Mike has managed to bring together many of the city’s most prominent business leaders, institutional leaders and government leaders in an effort to completely transform Downtown Dayton in a way this city has never seen before. Ego’s, politics and turf-protection have been set aside in favor of a sense of urgency and a desire to do what is best for the urban core. And while government leaders play an important part in the plan (as they should), they are not the ones driving it – a fact that should give pause to naysayers who have lost faith in our city government’s ability to put Dayton back on the path to prosperity. This is truly a collaborative effort between the private and public sector. Stay tuned on how this progresses…
I have no question that the city has folks that are truly dedicated to the prosperity and growth of the downtown core – I know most of them personally. But by ourselves it is a steep hill to climb. That hill is made steeper by the too-common apathy towards the city that can be found in the rest of the region. That is not to say that there aren’t suburbanites who are champions for the city (I happen to know many of them as well), but they are far and few between. The disconnect between the suburbs and the city has a history that goes back to long before I moved here in 2001 and likely goes back to before I was born – it started with what has become known as the Great White Flight. An entire generation exists here that can only remember downtown the way it “used to be”, and it is followed by an entire generation that has no connection at all to downtown – probably because they grew up surrounded by an anti-city attitude from their parents. It is thus of little surprise that many downtown advocates I know are from other cities – myself included.
There are many other reasons for the disconnect between suburbanites and the urban core. This region has a strong conservative culture that does not tend to value an urban culture; the word “urban” itself has a “different from us” meaning in many ways including racial and socio-economic. The city has the highest concentration of poverty in the region – a reason for upward-mobile people to stay away even though there is a small concentration of affluent folks who live in downtown. The public school system is obviously struggling. There is a very common belief throughout the region that there is a serious lack of leadership in the city, whether it is because of misplaced priorities or simply incompetence. And with the younger generation, it seems that the appreciation of this city’s history and heritage is almost non-existent.
Not all is lost, since a big problem I’ve always seen is a simple lack of information. Suburbanites that do not spend much time in the city often have no idea what is happening in the city that might appeal to them. Better marketing and outreach could go a long way in solving that, especially with some help with the media who have traditionally been seen as an enemy to the urban core with their constant barrage of negative news centered around crime. But perhaps there is something even more important than better marketing or media coverage, and that is by simply getting our grassroots story told. People love the underdog story, especially when it includes very dedicated people that everybody can identify with. I hope to continue telling that story here on DMM, and possibly via more traditional media formats. And just like with the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan – stay tuned…
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