The trend toward the liberalization of outdoor drinking laws continues in Cincinnati. The turned is prevalent enough that this isn't even the first example of a "designated outdoor refreshment area" on the Ohio River.
Mariel Carbone reports that the city of Cincinnati is moving forward with a plan to create an open container entertainment district and open street in The Banks, a mixed-use project still taking shop near the Great American Ballpark on the Ohio River.
A 500-foot stretch of Freedom Way between Joe Nuxhall Way and Walnut Street would be closed to all vehicle traffic, according to Carbone, to create pedestrian plaza for restaurant and bar patrons to walk with designated cup in hand.
The idea for the designated outdoor refreshment area, or DORA for short, is compared to Beale Street in Memphis in the article, but cities around the country have been relaxing open container laws in outdoor entertainment districts since before the pandemic upended conceptions of public space. Nearby Bellevue, Kentucky adopted its own version of a DORA in November 2019, for example, in addition to Covington, Kentucky.
Briana Rice provides additional news coverage of Cincinnati's plans to allow outdoor drinking in The Banks.
FULL STORY: Cranley eyeing The Banks outside GABP as city's first open-container entertainment district
One of the Best Local Beer Towns to Allow Open Containers
Avondale Estates, Georgia is leaning into its recognition as one of the best small-town beer scenes in the country.
Happy Hour: Open Containers Now Allowed in Bellevue, Kentucky Entertainment District
Bellevue, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, is the latest city to follow in the footsteps on Las Vegas and New Orleans in allowing alcoholic beverages in the public realm.
Happy Hour: Now You Can Drink on the Streets of Manhattan
The city of New York has decided that police have better things to do than bust people for drinking in public. Cheers!
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.
Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.
Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service