Quality Place
WHAT IT IS
The term "quality place" sounds rather academic, but it refers to the physical structures where we live, work, journey and play, and how they enhance our lives.
We know some places have more to offer than others. Why? They are attractive and convenient for buying goods and services, socializing and being entertained. They are safe and easy to get to. They offer a mixture of housing types as well as recreation, office, retail and service.
These things give them character, which makes being in and around them a unique experience.
Partner Sites:
Place Matters, Arts & Culture Partnership
WHY IT MATTERS
Quality places attract businesses and people. When our natural beauty, cultural institutions and our neighborhoods make us feel proud of where we live, we project a distinctive image of our region.
Quality places don't just happen. We create them.
That's why, while Cincinnati has so many attributes that give it a sense of quality place, we still need to be more intentional about how we build and preserve neighborhoods, public places, industrial areas and every corner of our physical environment.
WHERE WE ARE
The pillars of Roebling Bridge. The Art Deco architecture of Cincinnati Museum Center. pyramid hill Sculpture park, hueston Woods State park, Little Miami River and its scenic bike trail, Loveland Castle, historic Lebanon, Kings Island.
Those are the kinds of special, familiar visual images that make Southwest Ohio feel like home, like it's a quality place.
Our vibrant, unique neighborhoods also are a tremendous benefit. Think how often people here list "strong neighborhoods" such as Northside and West Chester as something they love about their hometown.
We have a long and storied history of strong arts and cultural institutions. The Cincinnati Art Museum, the Cincinnati Zoo, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. We have some of the oldest organizations in the country, with some of the most generous patrons. We are one of the few cities in the U.S. that still boasts major arts groups ranging from visual arts to dance to music to theater.
Finally, our environment is something to cherish and preserve.
Hills and rivers are among our greatest assets. Our natural beauty is among our greatest bragging rights.
WHERE WE'RE GOING
Here are four strategies defined by Agenda 360 for building on our existing quality place.
Expand place-based investment
If you've driven north on Interstate 75 past Middletown in the past year, you have seen a great example of what Agenda 360 identifies as expanding place-based investment.
Development along the interstate includes the sparkling new Atrium Medical Center. Right now it's the centerpiece of a plan the city of Middletown launched in 2005. The city wanted to make sure its east end was positioned to capture the growing demand for new commercial and office space as the population boomed in the corridor midway between Cincinnati and Dayton.
The city assembled a team to initiate development of the east end into a regional business and living center, providing an economically and environmentally sustainable balance of office, commercial, hospitality and residential development.
Middletown's plan is designed to make best use of the land by requiring high-quality, relatively high-density development. That approach will create and retain jobs and diversify the community's tax base as it develops over the next 25 years.
And that is what's meant by "placebased investment" creating quality places of a certain size and scale in strategic locations.
The GO Cincinnati economic development strategy, for example, is looking to make best use of the great location and existing infrastructure in and around Queensgate, Bond hill and Madisonville to create job centers and economic opportunity in those key sections of the city.
Also, in order to expand place-based investment, we need creative ways to finance projects so that developers don't have to bear the high costs of cleanup or redevelopment, which often keeps a project from being financially viable.
The port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, which partners with communities and private developers to provide bond financing and brownfields redevelopment, is a good example of the type of organization that helps reclaim land and put it to productive use.
Other great examples are the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. and Uptown Consortium, public/private partnerships that use New Market Tax Credits and other incentives to spur development. Both organizations focus efforts on creating and revitalizing areas that, based on their locations, have great potential for large-scale development.
Empower neighborhood revitalization and growth
Nothing is more important than where we live our neighborhoods.
If we can empower neighborhood revitalization and growth, we can create healthy communities out of neighborhoods that have experienced decades of disinvestment and decline.
Healthy neighborhoods are stable ones where clean and safe streets lead to the retention of businesses and families, and where home values remain strong.
The Agenda 360 Community Survey showed 94 percent of respondents ranked safe, proud and vibrant neighborhoods as a high-priority issue for our civic and political leaders to focus on.
Neighborhoods grow by attracting and retaining residents, promoting and growing commercial activity and fostering a sense of pride within the community.
Enhance and connect the region's arts and culture assets
The time is right to acknowledge our strong arts and cultural scene and use it as a selling point in attracting and retaining talented people to our region.
We know young professionals, for instance, value a rich arts and culture sector. And the Agenda 360 survey found that 71 percent of respondents believe it is crucial for us to create a network of arts and culture centers to inspire creativity.
To thrive as a region, we must preserve and strengthen the cultural institutions located in the heart of the region for the benefit of people who live there, for visitors who seek Southwest Ohio as an entertainment destination, and for businesses who seek cultural experiences as a coveted amenity to attract and retain employees. We must also build on our growing network of community-based arts centers and make it easy for people to access the arts.
Protect and improve the environment
Protecting and improving the environment encompasses everything from a straightforward effort to plant more trees to complex concepts such as guiding city planning and establishing zoning codes that support environmentally sound construction and operation of buildings.
While most communities are figuring out how they can be more "green," our region has some compelling reasons to work to become a national leader in environmental sustainability. Basic needs such as air and water quality have a profound effect on public health, and the availability of green places for recreation are prime attractions to young people choosing a place to pursue their careers.
GETTING STARTED
Below are initiatives the Agenda 360 research has so far identified as good ways to make progress on the above strategies. They are just a start; new programs and initiatives will be found, created and evolve with the changing needs of our community.
Place Matters
Empowering neighborhood revitalization and growth starts with recognizing that the foundation of a neighborhood lies with its people. The place Matters programs underway in Covington, price hill and Avondale mobilize community stakeholders to build capacity for reinvestment. The programs address social as well as financial needs by encouraging neighbors to get together to define challenges, leverage government and other development resources and achieve measurable outcomes.
This leads to the ability to attract investment dollars for physical improvements and eventually a more stable community that can offer jobs, higher home values and other improvements to families.
Smart Growth
Another way to improve place throughout our region is by using the ideas behind Smart Growth planning.
To understand Smart Growth, think of American neighborhoods pre-1950s a mix of housing types and family incomes on the same block, sidewalks that took you to the town square, distinctive, attractive communities, different kinds of transportation options, and open spaces that took advantage of an area's natural beauty.
Smart Growth suggests we borrow what worked in the past as we plan for the future. We should give strong consideration to mixed-use development, sidewalks, strategic green space and architectural beauty.
Arts & Culture Partnership
Created in 2008, the Arts & Culture partnership's mission is to preserve and strengthen the region's cultural assets and to use the Fine Arts Fund and leading arts and cultural organizations to create a stronger, sustainable cultural life in Southwest Ohio. Specifically, the partnership is committed to:
- Growing the resources and influence of arts and culture
- Enhancing communications and collaboration within the arts and culture community and the community at large
- Promoting awareness and participation in arts and cultural groups among citizens and visitors
- Increasing the reach and impact of arts education.
Green initiatives
Agenda 360 proposes four ways to make our region among the greenest in the country, through green initiatives, green buildings, a green framework and green families. First, we will develop an infrastructure and network to support green initiatives in the region. Second, through adoption of Smart Growth, LEED standards, and other means, we will reduce the negative impact of construction and operation of buildings. Third, we will increase the tree canopy across the region and connect it as an "emerald necklace" of recreational opportunity, and fourth, we will enlist local families to adopt green practices at home.