Tag: Oxford

Oxford, UK- Iconic English Center for Learning Hosting the Oldest University in the English Speaking World

The City is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world. Founded in the eighth century, The town grew in national importance during the early Norman period after the Oxford Castle. Oxford steadily grew during the Middle ages but remained a University Town. Oxford was greatly affected by the changes of the English Reformation first with several of its ecclesiastical institutions and monasteries being dismantled and confiscated by Henry VIII. Oxford also became a flash point for the Country’s Catholic/Protestant clashes leading to several theologians being executed in the City. Oxford was granted city status in 1542 when the Diocese of Oxford was created gaining Oxford much autonomy. This was also the time when Christ Church College Chapel became the City’s official cathedral. Oxford went on as a more or less sleepy college town until the 19th century when industrialization led to a major population boom. Traditional industries included brewing and publishing (i.e. Oxford University Press). The City’s population and economy grew with this industrial boom, diversifying beyond the universities. Oxford has continued to grow since the Industrial area and has nearly doubled in population since 1980. Currently just under a 170K residents live within the Oxford City residents and around 250K in the metro.

Oxford is very comfortable and walkable small city where due to solid bus service, excellent bike infrastructure and mixed-use development, one really does not need to own a car. Central City Oxford is where the highest concentration of commercial districts, universities, cultural amenities, and department stores are located but several business districts and universities are also located outside of the core City. The more notable districts include the Jeriko District, Summertown District, St. Clement’s and the Headington District. These neighborhoods were developed in the 19th century during the City’s industrial expansion with compact rowhouse streets and linear business districts. There is also an abundance of scenic open space, a great feat for a City with an overall population density of 10K per square mile. The biggest downside of Oxford is its high housing costs, the highest in England second to London. This is due to the City’s strong demand plus a restrictive Green belt which slowed development on the outskirts of Oxford. In order to resolve its affordability problem Oxford needs to decide whether to embrace higher densities within the existing city limits or to expand out to the hinterland.

Click here to view my Oxford Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

  • Several world renowned gothic inspired landmarks (i.e. Radcliffe Camera, University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, Castle, Tom Tower, Merton College, Magdalen College, Museum of Natural History, Carfax Towner, Christ Church.
  • excellent market (the Covered Market) in the center of town.
  • Several excellent commercial districts most notably Cornmarket, Queen, Bonn Square (all pedestrianized), High Street , St. Aldate’s, Walton St (located outside of central Oxford in the Jeriko District), Banbury Rd (Summertown District), St. Clement’s St & Cowley Rd (located southeast of Central Oxford), and London Rd in the Headington District east of the Central Oxford.
  • Oxford all hosts an extensive dwtn mall (Westgate Mall) hosting several department stores.
  • Plenty of mix-used streets outside of these main corridors.
  • Incredible amount of parks and open space within the Oxford Limits. Pretty well enforced urban growth boundary which prevents Oxford from leapfrog development and sprawl.
  • Thanks to all the universities and historic institutions contains in Oxford, this town really punches above it weigh class for cultural amenities.
  • Comprehensive bike lane system covering nearly the entire city. Much better than the bike lane system in London.
  • Solid tree canopy.
  • Solid density for a City with so much green space, sitting at just under 10K per square mile.
  • Very manageable City (at only 18 Sq Miles) where you can basically walk anywhere or take the bus which is of high service.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Too small for any transit but good regional connections to London and other UK destinations.
* Plenty of more suburban districts on the edges of Oxford (esp. the eastern side of town) with limited walkability.
* Can get touristy at times.
* Very expensive City to reside. This is due to the City’s strong demand, historic preservation, and Green Belt stopping development from spilling into the surrounding countryside. 

Oxford OH, home to Miami University and an attractive college town

I used the original square mile of the town as my boundaries as this encapsulates pretty well the historic boundaries of Oxford and the majority of its pre- WWII population. These boundaries also include the majority of Miami University, the reason for the town’s existence.

Miami University was chartered in 1809 and the town of Oxford laid out the following year. Thus the fortunes of town and university were inextricably linked since their founding. From an urbanist perspective historic Oxford is a pleasant mostly walkable environment including the bucolic Miami University Georgian campus, main street like Uptown, surrounded by historic but mostly college serving housing. Ringing historic Oxford on three sides is a well establish park system built along rivers and creeks.

The major urban downsides to Oxford is a lack of walkable schools (with the middle and high school located on the urban fringes), a lack of owner occupied housing in the city core, and distance from downtown Cincinnati, the hub City in urban metro to which Oxford belongs.
Click here for my full Oxford Album on Flick. Click here for my Miami University Album on Flickr.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good public transit for a small town. Miami University provides excellent shuttle system.
* Augmenting the convenience of bike on campus there are several dedicated bike lanes outside of campus.
* The rental situation is different from a typical urban neighborhood as this is a college town. Because of this there are lots of rental options, albeit geared towards students. 1-bedrooms generally go for $600-$700 & 2-bedrooms in the low $1,000s. Entire houses rent in the $2,000s.
* Not a ton of dedicated public park space within historic Oxford other than Oxford Memorial Park but plenty of green space once you include all the quads and sport fields on Miami’s campus. Also a whole system of trails and greenways ringing historic Oxford.
* Culturally Oxford is enriched by the performing arts brought by the university. Outside of campus there is a community theater and plenty of bars and restaurants.
* High Street hosts a solid array of cafes, restaurants, bars, boutiques, and neighborhood serving retail. There is also a drug store, Ace Hardware, library, and post office located off high street. Locust street, the western edge of historic oxford is an auto centric strip but provides important conveniences such as a supermarket, Moon co-op, and other retail options.
* Quality architecture on both campus and off including a gorgeous Georgian themed campus, Italianate commercial on high street and good urban infill.
* Great tree canopy both on and off campus.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Access to Dwtn Cincinnati is very inconvenient (50 mins) but the majority of Oxford residents work in Oxford. Dwtn Hamilton is also only 20 minutes away.
* Almost all for-sale property in historic Oxford are rental properties. Sadly one needs to resident in more suburban parts of town to find owner occupied property.
* Oxford Elementary is located just outside of the historic core. Unfortunately the middle school and high school are located on the edge of town, and thus are not walkable.