BY ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Like a makeover artist, consultant Michael Gallis is identifying Greater Cincinnati's flaws before suggesting any remedies.
Mr. Gallis, a regionalism guru whose plan revived Charlotte, N.C., laid out results from his first six months of study of Greater Cincinnati on Wednesday. It was commissioned by a coalition of businesses called the Metropolitan Growth Alliance.
He will give another presentation today at 4 p.m., open to the public, at Lawrenceburg High School. About 90 people attended the first of two sessions on Wednesday.
Mr. Gallis said the world began forming into trade regions with the fall of the Soviet Union and the opening of former Communist countries to free trade. One trade "axis" is growing from Canada to Mexico City, straight through the Midwest and 11 of the world's largest cities.
This trade axis is powerful enough to overtake America's east and west coasts in global importance, Mr. Gallis said.
The problem is that Cincinnati -- or, rather, the 13 Tristate counties that make up Greater Cincinnati -- must tug the axis to the east and south by offering attractions to business.
One thing Cincinnati could offer is a first-class university. But none is first tier within a 100-mile radius of Cincinnati, which Mr. Gallis calls the superregion. It includes Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville, Lexington and Dayton.
He defined a top tier university as one that has research laboratories and professors on staff that can provide resources to businesses here.
Cincinnati could also offer a good combination of rail, road and air transportation, Mr. Gallis said. It has the best airport in the superregion.
"It's the greatest resource we have since the steamboats," he said.
But road transportation is heading in the wrong direction from Cincinnati's perspective. Detroit, one of the big cities in the trade axis, is promoting its Interstate 94 corridor to Interstate 69 through Indianapolis. A better alternative for Cincinnati would be Interstate 75.
Detroit leaders told Mr. Gallis their reasons are political, he said. They receive support from the highest offices in Washington, D.C., for economic growth through their states -- Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas.
"We've got to get into that game because it does represent a significant break point," Mr. Gallis said.
Other Cincinnati problems include:
- Cultural differences and ecologies between Ohio and Kentucky.
- Increasing competition in arts and culture, especially from Indianapolis, which is making huge investments in new museums.
- Cincinnati is behind in information age development, and it was one of the last cities in the superregion to move from manufacturing to services.
- Interstate 275 does not operate as a true beltway for the region.
- Population is leaving the core city and along with that, universities, hospitals and cultural institutions are moving out. "There is no question, we cannot simply abandon the urban cities," Mr. Gallis said.
- Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana have different types of political entities -- there are no townships in Kentucky, for example. That makes it hard for these 347 units of government to work together.
One audience member asked Mr. Gallis how people in Greater Cincinnati might be persuaded to embrace change.
"Unfortunately, just like a business, metropolitan areas either rise or fall," he said. "The very things we treasure and want to hold onto begin to decline beneath our feet . . . unless each generation meets its challenge."
