BC Survey results, Part II

Last week, I published the numerical data I received from the Building Cincinnati Survey.

This week, I'll be looking at comments about the features that you said you wanted to see added to the blog.

Next week, I'll cover the feature that you'd like to see me remove.

Thanks again to everyone who participated, and please feel free to send me feedback anytime.

1. A search bar would be helpful.
There is a search bar at the top left corner of the page, in the Blogger bar. That box searches this site only. I'm currently working on upgrading the search functions on the site, and I have started adding tags to my posts. Searching will continue to get easier.

2. I would like to see agendas and minutes of Cincinnati Board of Building Appeals, board of Zoning Appeals and Historic Conservation Review.
So would I. I would recommend contacting them directly for minutes and agendas.

3. I'm always interested in development by locals.
So am I. I'm trying to make a better effort to start showing some of the new home construction projects going on locally, and I'm also pursuing a couple of renovation projects that haven't started yet.

4. How about a weekly or monthly feature on bad architectural decisions? Name names.
That is worth exploring. I definitely need to beef up my architectural coverage!

5. I am always looking for new, fun places to eat and just moved here. I wouldn't mind some sort of reviews or guide to Cincinnati restaurants.
That is kind of outside of the scope of this blog, and there are several local blogs that focus on this very issue. Check out my blogroll for links to some of those blogs.

6. More information on older historic homes within the City of Cincinnati. I live in Mt Washington in 160 year old home. I know of many other older homes in the area. I think it would be interesting to spot light the older homes found within the city.
Again, I plan on adding to my architectural coverage. I'm always looking for submissions about readers' old houses, so continue sending them in!

7. I'd like to see the CBD, Covington, & Newport get a little more coverage, if possible.
My coverage of Northern Kentucky is pitiful. I am building contacts over there, though, so that will definitely improve.

8. An archive by post type, i.e. new office, new residential, wrecking cinci, etc.
I have started tagging posts and you'll have the ability to search by tags in the future. It's a work in progress - I have about nine months of posts that I still need to tag, but I'll announce it when it's ready.

9. More coverage on the city's prosecution of absentee landlords (if there is any).
Thanks to Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann, documents pertaining to court cases are no longer available for public viewing. I have been able to find snippets of information for my Wrecking Cincinnati posts, but not enough to be able to support full-length articles.

10. More coverage of suburban developments
This will always be an urban-focused blog and it will never include greenfield developments or subdivisions out in the townships. It will, however, include things like brownfield redevelopment in Reading, redevelopment along the Winton Road corridor in Forest Park and pedestrian-friendly development in Blue Ash. I will pretty much avoid Butler, Clermont, Warren and Boone counties altogether. There is also another problem I run into - it seems like officials in suburban jurisdictions are much less likely to respond to my inquiries.

11. As always, i like more articles - maybe there's room for another writer??
If you readers can help Building Cincinnati grow, then this is a definite possibility.

12. I'd like to see a section devoted to current programs to assist those interested in development. for instance, a special loan program the city might be offering for a certain area for certain reasons. include a forum to get insight from others.
Something like this would probably not happen very soon, at least not until this blog is upgraded to a website. At that point I plan to add a lot more resources - something I cannot do on this blog without making the layout much more cluttered than it already is.

13. Possibly a bit more notice on time based items like hearings, auctions, etc.
I will try to give a little more notice on these things - maybe an extra day or two. Sometimes when a story runs is dictated by content, but I'll try to be more conscious of this in the future.

14. make an interactive map of neighborhoods with on going projects in each. Here you could put links to news articles about the projects.
I plan on adding something like that when I upgrade to a website.

15. More neighborhood photo essays; more development history
When I upgrade to a website, I plan on scrapping the Photobucket galleries for more essay-styled neighborhood photo pages.

16. It might be nice to include polls for the safety of downtown. Basically ask everyone if they feel it's getting safer. Although a lot of great and amazing things are happening downtown, people are still scared to go there. We need to find every way possible to make them think otherwise.
A poll is not going to change anyone's perceptions, especially when the vast majority of the people who read this site are pro-City. What's needed is a complete change of mindset. People in this region seem less mentally equipped for city living than in other parts of the country, it seems.

17. Also, more about YOU the blogger, a more personal approach might make the posts more interesting to read. I find myself wondering how you got involved in these issues, what your perspective is, what is your day job and how do you stay motivated to update constantly?
I hate to keep talking about "upgrading to a website", but that's the plan as well. A full "About Me" page where I can include the personal stuff.

18. An area that is specifically focused on OTR development plans. As a young professional with a minimal income it would be nice to have an updated site to find out when development is going to occur so I can act fast on a property when the opportunity arises.
I want to stay away from focusing on one neighborhood, but I will post about any news of note when I hear about it.

19. Ways to get involved
This will be integrated into my list of resources, once that time arises.

20. I would like some more personal, subjective commentary. What is your gut reaction of a neighborhood or project? Would you live in a certain development?
Outside of my comments when I post a link to an outside article, I try to stay pretty objective. If I'm going to post my personal feelings on a project, look for it in the article comments.

That last one reminds me of something - I'd like to add "Recent Comments" to the blog, which will make it easier for you to track comments on articles that disappear from the front page. The widgets I've found so far all lack something, usually putting the story titles in lower case. I know it's nitpicking, but it just looks bad. If anyone knows of a good "Recent Comments" widget or a snippet of code, please contact me.