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Restructuring positions UrbanCincy for further, long-term growth

UrbanCincy is nearing its four-year anniversary, and the site is stronger than ever following a year of transition and change. On the heels of celebrating our third Best of Cincinnati award in four years, the UrbanCincy team is also celebrating all-time high readership levels.

Since UrbanCincy’s founding in May 2007 much has changed with the website, the city and its people. What began as a humble outlet to share my personal thoughts about the city with whomever chose to read it has become so much more. UrbanCincy now features exclusive and original content, publishes eight to ten times each week, runs a seasonal kickball league, organizes events throughout the year like Bikes + Brews, and has become the place for people to get their news on Cincinnati’s urban core.

For the third time in four years, UrbanCincy has been honored to be voted as one of the best blogs in Cincinnati. This year UrbanCincy was chosen along with Wine Me, Dine Me and 365 Things to do in Cincinnati. Each year I have been honored to even have UrbanCincy considered worthy of such recognition, but it was even more satisfying this year following a great deal of transition internally at UrbanCincy.

Over the past six months UrbanCincy has successfully begun a transition that is shifting more responsibility to Jenny Kessler, who is now Operations Manager for the site. We have also restructured the contributing team to best reflect time commitments and professional capabilities. Additionally, in fall 2010 UrbanCincy entered into an innovative content sharing agreement with the Cincinnati Business Courier which will further stregthen both entities. These moves allow me to take on a greater leadership role, while also maintaining leadership continuity at UrbanCincy when I am traveling domestically or overseas with work.

This transition was not easy. At the end of 2010 the website saw a significant drop in readership when compared to previous growth trends. This was, in large part, due to less content being published on the site. We have, I believe, solved those issues and have reaffirmed UrbanCincy’s long-term position within the Cincinnati community.

The bottom line is that UrbanCincy, while still a labor of love, is better positioned today and healthier than ever. And the team of writers (Andrew Oehlerking, Dave Rolfes, Emily Schneider, Jake Mecklenborg, Jenny Kessler, Nathaniel Hammitt), photographers (Jake Mecklenborg, Thadd Fiala) and general contributors (Bryon Martin, David Ben, Kevin Wright, Travis Estell) at UrbanCincy has you, the readers, to thank for this.

I hope that UrbanCincy can continue to grow and become an even more integral part of the conversation in Cincinnati in years to come. Please let us know how we might be able to do that by contacting us at UrbanCincy@gmail.com. Thank you, and please continue to support Cincinnati’s urban core.

By Randy A. Simes

Randy is an award-winning urban planner who founded UrbanCincy in May 2007. He grew up on Cincinnati’s west side in Covedale, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s nationally acclaimed School of Planning in June 2009. In addition to maintaining ownership and serving as the managing editor for UrbanCincy, Randy has worked professionally as a planning consultant throughout the United States, Korea and the Middle East. After brief stints in Atlanta and Chicago, he currently lives in the Daechi neighborhood of Seoul’s Gangnam district.