Forbes: UC is central to Cincinnati's innovation story

Written by Forbes Senior Contributor Shana Hyder, "Place Marketing: How One Midwestern City Is Transforming Its Brand" explores what cities are doing to stay competitive. Hyder focuses on Cincinnati and its use of placemaking and storytelling to position itself as a place that values inclusiveness and innovation. 

"One of the ways they’re communicating this is by highlighting the 1819 Innovation Hub," Hyder writes. "Here, the University of Cincinnati is actively collaborating with VCs and corporations to solve big problems through the lens of innovation and disruption, as well as to produce research, develop new ideas, and establish pipelines for talent. It’s an unconventional yet highly productive marriage of academia, industry, and talent."

Along with its partners in the Uptown Consortium, UC is leading the city's placemaking efforts through the development of the Uptown Innovation Corridor. Anchored by the 1819 Innovation Hub, the city's innovation district is gaining momentum. Four Fortune 500 companies have co-located to 1819, as has seed investment fund CincyTech, Kingsgate Logistics and Cincinnati Bell, to name a few. The construction of the 180,000-square-foot Digital Futures building at the Uptown Gateway site is well underway, and with its opening will come even more collaborative energy.

The 1819 Innovation Hub's anchors the Uptown Innovation Corridor, the development of which aligns with several of the central pathways and platforms in the university's strategic direction, Next Lives Here. Through this placemaking effort, UC is unleashing its vision of leading public, urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. 

Featured image: Attendees at the unveiling of the Uptown Gateway development examine site maps and renderings. The Uptown Gateway is the future site of UC's Digital Futures building. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services