How to reign in the South Side without crushing its spirit?

A cross-section of people who have grappled with their own South Sides -- from Seattle to Gainesville, Fla. -- turned out Tuesday to share techniques at the Sociable Cities Forum at the Sheraton Station Square.

Councilman Bruce Kraus asked the Responsible Hospitality Institute to stage a one-day gathering with hope that a management team might emerge in Pittsburgh.

"The South Side could be the epicenter for this program" said Mr. Kraus, whose intern, Bryan Woll, last summer prepared a "proposal for the management of the South Side using responsible hospitality practices." The research concluded that South Side has four bar stools for every resident -- 20,000 seats for 5,000 people.

"Hospitality zones," as they are called, are established in more than 200 cities with the Responsible Hospitality Institute as consultant. Each zone has a management team that includes bar and restaurant owners, public safety officers, residents and neighborhood organizations. They plan and manage the way they want that zone to operate and help businesses comply instead of using enforcement as a first line of defense.

About 100 people attended Tuesday's event, including local police officers, university vice presidents, the mayor of Cincinnati, heads of neighborhood nonprofits, a slew of South Side bar owners and city residents.

Mr. Kraus said his intention is not to attack South Side businesses or their young patrons.

"Young people are a tremendous asset and businesses are great revenue generators we should do everything in our power to nurture and protect. This is about bettering people's lives and bettering the bottom line. It has to include bettering the lives of residents."

He said the South Side has 104 annual events -- Friday and Saturday nights -- that need a semblance of the mobilization the city rolls out for eight Steelers home games.

Jim Peters, founder and president of the hospitality institute, said it behooves nightlife districts to broaden the way they cater to patrons. An older group of young adults may eschew a district like East Carson, as would mature people who have money to spend, including empty nesters and conventioneers. Not to exclude the young patrons who dominate the scene now, he said, "but if all you're doing is competing to sell beer, you are all lowering your prices and creating a negative environment."

A management zone team might require a security plan from a prospective licensee, he said. That might include training staff to manage drinkers before they get drunk and to remind them to urinate before last call instead of on the sidewalk.

In some cities, teams have help from the top. A mayor's liaison in San Jose, Calif., works to oil the gears to make policy a better fit for hospitality. In Gainesville, a police captain is responsible for managing two hospitality zones.

Mark Mallory, the 48-year-old mayor of Cincinnati, said he organized "Operation Hospitality" in 2006, his first year in office, to reverse the practice of blocking off central businesses during the Kool Jazz Festival.

"Local restaurant patrons couldn't get in, and traffic congested the perimeter," he said. "I thought we'd flip the city's response. We slashed parking fees, asked the restaurant association members to stay open late and we promoted it. We called in the service industry, from cab drivers to restaurant staffs, the face of our city, for an all-day workshop."

Operation Hospitality is now applied to every major event in Cincinnati, he said.

Some cities have a concierge fit potential new businesses to a location most natural for their business success and compliance. "The incentive is to help people do it right, to move away from the 'gotcha' mentality," said Mr. Peters.

Josie Rotolo, a South Side resident and owner of the former South Shore Diner, said she wants to organize residents "to become more involved" in a potential hospitality zone. "I feel bad that more Carson Street bar owners aren't here. Their businesses could last longer" with management than without it.

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