First things first… welcome to Columbus! If you’re like most people who live outside of Ohio, you probably know very little about Columbus. I’ve found that actually works in our favor when hosting first-time visitors, as their expectations are a blank slate and it’s not too hard to leave them with a positive impression of our city. We’re home to the Ohio State University, the largest college in the United States, and serve as the capital of Ohio. Despite our location in the heart of the “rust belt”, Columbus was not founded as an industrial town and has managed to continue to grow and thrive. Our citizens are youthful, friendly, humble, creative and welcoming.

Chicago is a summer city. I never understood the desire of some Chicagoans to have a country home or lake home for the summer. A Florida condo in the winter perhaps, but why leave Chicago on the weekends during the short time of the year the weather is nice? Of course, if you’re in Milwaukee, you already get this.

In an attempt to broaden our horizons, we reached out to other city-focused blogs across the Midwest. Our goal is to provide a quality tour guide for city-lovers in each large Midwestern city. We asked each of our writers recommend around 10 things that can be done in their city and to orientate the guide around someone staying at a downtown hotel without a car (including transit options if anything was outside of walking distance).Our second profile is of Pittsburgh

Indianapolis might be one of the most misunderstood Midwestern cities, as most people only associate the City with cars, Colts, and conventions. But dig a little deeper and you’ll discover what makes Indianapolis a true heartland destination: its thriving downtown, unique cultural districts, and beautiful urban neighborhoods

The Congress for the New Urbanism held its 18th annual meeting this year in Atlanta under the title “RX for Healthy Places” (RX referring to the medical terminology for a prescription). The title highlights the impact our built environment has on how we conduct our daily lives and how these patterns have a great effect on human health.

It’s time for a clear brand for high-speed rail in the Midwest. The discussion surrounding the Milwaukee to Madison high-speed rail grant has made the need for a coherent brand clear with people confused if the new train will be a stand-alone route, somehow connected to the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line, similar to the Amtrak Empire Builder, or a competitor to the existing Amtrak Hiawatha line.

The Plan of Chicago is a quick and easy read that’s perhaps best described as a launchpad. Carl Smith breaks down key aspects of Burnham’s plan in his book and details how they came to be, who influenced them, and how they turned out. For someone who hasn’t actually read the actual plan (not required or expected for reading this book), author Carl Smith uses just the right amount of detail to illustrate the concepts.

The intercity bus service famous for their $1 tickets has substantially scaled back their operations in and out of Milwaukee. Megabus provided a wealth of options to and from Chicago just a few months ago, and their scaling back of a few daily runs in December wasn’t cause for much concern. Apparently, we should have viewed it as a sign of bad things to come though, with what used to be six trips each way everyday trimmed first to four, and now down to two.

Could indoor gardens be in store for The Shops of Grand Avenue future? It could happen if the mall follows in the steps of a similar mall in downtown Cleveland, the Galleria at Erieview.

The residents of Waukesha County will love the Madison to Milwaukee high-speed rail line once it’s up and running, and not for any reason that readily jumps out at you. Certainly residents of Waukesha County will likely use the train to get to Madison, but that’s not a big sell to the residents. Taking a train from Brookfield or Oconomowoc to the Madison Airport just isn’t all that appealing because of the distance. What is appealing though? First-class comfort from Milwaukee’s western suburbs to the heart of Chicago.