CSNbbs

There are many things that UH, Temple, Memphis, Cincy, Louisville and USF have in common. One of those things are a statewide reputation for being located in a "bad" or "dangerous" neighborhood.


Are these claims justified, overblown and stereotypical? Or was this perhaps true, say 10-20 years ago but is no longer the case today?

I can't speak for the others obviously but what I can talk about is UH. Yes, Third Ward was very dangerous many years ago and can still be dangerous today if one was to venture deep within it at night and go looking for trouble but overall, the campus and immediate area is generally safe. Plus I personally never had any problems, even when a few friends and I grabbed some wings walking down Scott St at 9-10pm or when I was walking to a friends dorm after getting drunk at The Cougar's Den sometime after midnight.

Yo Gotti got the streets on lock

(01-07-2014 01:00 PM)Geotag Wrote: [ -> ]Yo Gotti got the streets on lock

Take the thread seriously.

For USF the surrounding area is nice except for the area bordering that west side of the campus, which commonly referred to as "Suitcase City" due to the transient nature of it's residents over the last 30 years. There are a lot of urban redevelopment efforts in the area but those things don't happen overnight. However the rest of the areas surrounding the campus is actually very nice, i.e New Tampa with its million dollar homes or the nicer areas of Temple Terrace along the Hillsborough River.

It's not Coral Gables or the Westwood area surrounding UCLA but it's not in a 'war zone' or completely surrounded by ghetto as some would like claim.

(01-07-2014 01:03 PM)Cougar King Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-07-2014 01:00 PM)Geotag Wrote: [ -> ]Yo Gotti got the streets on lock

Take the thread seriously.

SMU has some rough spots to the west

(01-07-2014 01:03 PM)Cougar King Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-07-2014 01:00 PM)Geotag Wrote: [ -> ]Yo Gotti got the streets on lock

Take the thread seriously.

ECU's main campus is a beautiful, older/historic Greenville neighborhood, and within stumbling distance to the Bar Scene downtown. There has been an influx of an "undesirable element" as of late, but it is still a pretty place. A ton of big, old trees are all throughout the campus, and there are several renovations to dorms & buildings in progress. The new athletic campus has been greatly improved, with all stadiums/arenas within walking distance of each other. If you haven't visited, you should make the trip when your team plays here! I'll shake your hand & give you a beer!

Clifton is what you'd expect from a neighborhood off of the downtown area in a Rust Belt city. That being said, if the crime statistics were actually taken into account, it is nowhere near as unsafe as Ohio State's or Case Western's surrounding areas in the state of Ohio.

(01-07-2014 01:00 PM)Geotag Wrote: [ -> ]Yo Gotti got the streets on lock

Juicy J would disagree.

(01-07-2014 12:56 PM)Cougar King Wrote: [ -> ]There are many things that UH, Temple, Memphis, Cincy, Louisville and USF have in common. One of those things are a statewide reputation for being located in a "bad" or "dangerous" neighborhood.


Are these claims justified, overblown and stereotypical? Or was this perhaps true, say 10-20 years ago but is no longer the case today?

I can't speak for the others obviously but what I can talk about is UH. Yes, Third Ward was very dangerous many years ago and can still be dangerous today if one was to venture deep within it at night and go looking for trouble but overall, the campus and immediate area is generally safe. Plus I personally never had any problems, even when a few friends and I grabbed some wings walking down Scott St at 9-10pm or when I was walking to a friends dorm after getting drunk at The Cougar's Den sometime after midnight.

The streets of east Orlando are particularily rough. Don't go out alone at night.

UCF is in Orange County a few miles east of Orlando. It's mega-sprawl so while there are some good (Oviedo to the north) and some very bad (Union Park) areas around UCF, you don't really have to see them or deal with them except through the window at 50mph.

The photos firmbizzle posted are of Waterford Lakes Towncenter, one of the larger if not the largest outdoor malls in the southeast. That's a pretty but not really accurate look at the UCF surrounding area.

the USF area is rough and very ugly. Parts of Fowler Ave looks like it's still stuck in the 80s. Lots of subsidized apartments very close to USF.

I'm glad UCF was built in a rural/suburban area. Students living back on Old Lockwood get that lakehouse feel

The Memphis campus is surrounded by very nice neighborhoods to the north (Galloway/Red Acres) and to the east (Grandview/The Village).

To the immediate west is a nice neighborhood (East Buntyn) that is adjacent to Memphis Country Club.

To the immediate south is Normal Station, which is the "poorest" of the surrounding neighborhoods, but certainly isn't a bad neighbohood.

we're good...

(01-07-2014 01:56 PM)3601 Wrote: [ -> ]The Memphis campus is surrounded by very nice neighborhoods to the north (Galloway/Red Acres) and to the east (Grandview/The Village).

To the immediate west is a nice neighborhood (East Buntyn) that is adjacent to Memphis Country Club.

To the immediate south is Normal Station, which is the "poorest" of the surrounding neighborhoods, but certainly isn't a bad neighbohood.

Yep, while Memphis might have a reputation for crime, the area around the university is quite nice. The north and east sides are actually pretty affluent and upscale. Calipari's posh digs were probably no more than a 10 minute walk from campus.

I grew up in the more middle-class Buntyn neighborhood in the 50s on Reese St, and at the age of 5 would walk with my buddy to the Big Star on the Highland Strip to get milk for my mom. Nowadays, it's still safe, but I don't think I'd let a 5 yr. old walk 5 blocks to the store in virtually any town. Times have changed, lol

Houston's campus definitely has a reputation of being in a tough neighborhood, but the people who say this don't really know what they're talking about because it is really a hybrid of very different environments depending upon where you're at. It's pretty reflective of the city in general.

If you're walking along Scott Street, you will get a taste of true American "third ward" ghetto. If you're walking on Calhoun, you'll get a countryish sort of vibe (although this has been changing with all of the retail). If you're walking along MacGregor Way or inside of the University Oaks subdivision where Case Keenum and Guy Lewis live, you're going to get a nice, almost suburban feel. If you're in the center of campus around M.D. Anderson Library, you'll get a strict university environment with all of the on-campus residents roaming, etc.

So it's really hard to just categorize "the neighborhood" in which UH exists. Part of this is because Houston is the largest city in the country without zoning laws. To illustrate, let's look at some of the photos of areas directly surrounding UH's main campus:

University Oaks/MacGregor Way



Scott Street



Both of these areas are pretty equidistant to campus, but are a stark contrast.

(01-07-2014 02:42 PM)cotton1991 Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-07-2014 01:56 PM)3601 Wrote: [ -> ]The Memphis campus is surrounded by very nice neighborhoods to the north (Galloway/Red Acres) and to the east (Grandview/The Village).

To the immediate west is a nice neighborhood (East Buntyn) that is adjacent to Memphis Country Club.

To the immediate south is Normal Station, which is the "poorest" of the surrounding neighborhoods, but certainly isn't a bad neighbohood.

Yep, while Memphis might have a reputation for crime, the area around the university is quite nice. The north and east sides are actually pretty affluent and upscale. Calipari's posh digs were probably no more than a 10 minute walk from campus.

I grew up in the more middle-class Buntyn neighborhood in the 50s on Reese St, and at the age of 5 would walk with my buddy to the Big Star on the Highland Strip to get milk for my mom. Nowadays, it's still safe, but I don't think I'd let a 5 yr. old walk 5 blocks to the store in virtually any town. Times have changed, lol

Cal's old house is actually only about 200 yards right across Poplar from the extreme NE corner of the campus.

UCF has great food within one mile of campus in every direction. It's not your Capital Grill or Flemings Steakhouses, but it is the biggest variety of quick eats/fast food areas I've ever seen.

Clifton has definitely started to make a comeback... I don't think it will ever be "high-class," but it has been improving.

The crime statistics are funny. The Ohio State University really is a much more statistically dangerous place to be in, but everyone likes to snigger at UC's location in Clifton Heights and Coreyville.

I think that a lot of UC folks would be really happy if the City started to take care of and invest some resources in Burnet Woods just off campus. UC is always rebuffed from expanding in the Burnet woods by being told that it is part of the urban greenscape, but I don't think the City has spent near the amount of resources in grooming the park as they have in some other parks. (I could be wrong on that...it's been several years since I have been in the BW...) It used to be that the Burnet Woods had an unsavory reputation for illicit and illegal activity.

The Memphis campus is the safest in the State...




http://memphis.edu/umparents/health_safety.htm

http://memphis.edu/police/pdfs/securitya...tymain.pdf

The campus is located next to the Highland Strip...a popular student hang out.

(01-07-2014 03:23 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote: [ -> ]Clifton has definitely started to make a comeback... I don't think it will ever be "high-class," but it has been improving.

The crime statistics are funny. The Ohio State University really is a much more statistically dangerous place to be in, but everyone likes to snigger at UC's location in Clifton Heights and Coreyville.

I think that a lot of UC folks would be really happy if the City started to take care of and invest some resources in Burnet Woods just off campus. UC is always rebuffed from expanding in the Burnet woods by being told that it is part of the urban greenscape, but I don't think the City has spent near the amount of resources in grooming the park as they have in some other parks. (I could be wrong on that...it's been several years since I have been in the BW...) It used to be that the Burnet Woods had an unsavory reputation for illicit and illegal activity.

It's the exact same with UT and UH.

If you pull up the UT crime map, and it's so dense that you can't even click them all, because they all overlap one another.