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Development News

Urban basketball courts offer tremendous opportunity within cities

The Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) is currently in the process of working out details for a redeveloped Washington Park. The refurbished and expanded park will prove to be a major anchor for redevelopment efforts taking place nearby, but some existing residents have expressed concern over what elements are included in the final design.

Quite simply, not all desires will be able to be met for both logistical and financial reasons. But much of the concern has been over the removal of the existing swimming pool and basketball court. The swimming pool is to be replaced by a splash ground that does not bear the sky-high insurance rates that are making municipally-owned swimming pools cost prohibitive. The basketball court is just not returning at all.

Personally I love the game of basketball and played pickup games through much of high school in addition to organized ball. The problem is that basketball courts do bring a certain element to a park – one that does not mesh with the new design and focus of Washington Park.

It is natural for egos to be bruised in basketball, and nearly par for the course for a few shoving matches or fights to take place. No big deal, it is part of youth and how the game works on the street. The new park will include children’s play areas, an open lawn for lounging and passive recreation, a plaza for theatre-goers to congregate, a bandstand, and a dog park to name some of the more prominent features. These lend the redeveloped Washington Park to an atmosphere that is not conducive for basketball courts, and I do not blame park designers or 3CDC for choosing not to include them in its redesign.

With that said, basketball courts do offer a great means of recreation and exercise. They are also ideally set up for an urban environment where their small footprint lends itself well to the high demand for space in urban settings.

Located just a couple hundred feet away, along the western side of Race Street, are three vacant lots (map) owned by OTR Holdings Inc. which is a wholly owned subsidiary of 3CDC. These vacant lots are almost certainly poised for residential infill development, or parking to satisfy the needs of future residents, but they could be transformed into two basketball courts.

This would go a long way in easing tensions amongst existing neighborhood residents, but also provide the neighborhood with a beautiful asset. The courts could be fenced in and secured during non-hours of operation. They could be well lit and offer the complete amenities of basketball courts in New York City and elsewhere. The beauty is that basketball courts do not need to be set within the confines of a park to be successful, and in fact, they actually offer a tremendous experience when tucked within surrounding structures.

There is a real opportunity to do this right and 3CDC should make sure the western part of Over-the-Rhine holds on to the public recreation facilities that satisfy the needs of both the current and future residents.  If you have questions, comments or concerns about the new Washington Park you can share them on a new website dedicated to making sure the transition goes off without a hitch, and with as much community support as possible.

Categories
Development News Politics

Covington poised to appoint first Community Development Director

Covington is poised to appoint Jackson Kinney as the city’s first Community Development Director. Covington’s City Commission will vote on Kinney’s appointment at their meeting on Tuesday, June 22 at 7pm.

“Mr. Kinney has a strong and diverse background in community development working for large municipalities. The knowledge, experience, and planning background that he brings to this position will propel Covington’s economic and housing development efforts to new heights” stated Larry Klein, Covington City Manager, in a prepared release sent to UrbanCincy. “The Mayor and City Commission have worked very hard to assemble a superbly qualified community development team that will lead to even greater job, housing and development opportunities throughout the City.”

Kinney has a Journalism degree from Ohio University, and a Masters of Urban Planning from the University of Akron. He served as the Director of Community Development in Oshkosh, WI for close to 26 years, and during this time Kinney oversaw planning, economic development, housing, and downtown revitalization efforts for the city’s nearly 63,000 residents. He has also served in a number of planning positions throughout several communities in the Midwest and California prior to his service in Oshkosh, WI.

Covington officials are excited about Kinney’s background in both short- and long-term strategic planning throughout the country. Officials are also encouraged by the opportunity to tap into Kinney’s experience with brownfield and riverfront redevelopment which are both ongoing issues in Covington.

Should expectations hold true, and Kinney is appointed on June 22nd, he should begin work with the City of Covington on Monday, July 19th – something Kinney is looking forward to.

“I am very impressed with the community. The City is in a great location in the heart of the Cincinnati metropolitan area, with a wonderful riverfront setting and superb development that will continue to be a catalyst for additional development,” Kinney stated. “The City has a rich history to build on, with active business districts, distinct neighborhoods, and what is most important, engaged citizens and stakeholders.”

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Development News Politics Transportation

Cutting through the clutter to get urbanism news

It was approximately one year ago when UrbanCincy dove into the world of Twitter.  We were not sure what to make of it or how to use it, but there is certainly lots of information to be had if you are able to cut through the clutter (if in fact you dislike the clutter).

As a result, UrbanCincy has been putting together a list of those Twitter users who share information and ideas about urbanist issues.  Some focus on transit, some on particular cities or regions, others on policy and others sharing their urban experiences.  The people behind these accounts include policy makers, industry professionals, residents, businesses and writers.

The value is that at any given time you can keep tabs on the heartbeat of urbanism across America, and beyond, by simply following this list of people.  You do not have to be on Twitter to follow the list, but if you want to engage in conversation you do.  In either case the information is there for the taking.  Bookmark the page to follow along at your leisure, or follow the list on Twitter if you have an account.

If you have any other Twitter users that you believe should be added to this list, please leave a comment below so that they can be added to the stream.

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Development News Politics

Cincinnati’s hillsides present unique development opportunity

The beautiful Greek islands throughout the Aegean Sea are often known for their stunning landscapes, crystal clear blue water and their ancient development patterns often dating back to the Bronze Age between 3000-2000 BC. These ancient development patterns, while picturesque, also offer contemporary lessons on how to approach development in space-constrained locations.

In America, the problem is not limited land as experienced on the Greek islands, but rather, it is limited urban real estate. This dilemma often sends buildings and prices higher, with the most easily developed land to go first. Consequently, development often sprawls outward before communities fully maximize development possibilities within their urban centers.

In Cincinnati this scenario is most profound with the city’s hillsides. Early settlers built their homes, businesses and industry along the Ohio River for transportation reasons, and throughout “the basin” in order to take advantage of relatively flat and developable land. Over time Cincinnatians became more mobile and moved up on top of the hills developing areas like Price Hill, the Uptown neighborhoods, Mt. Lookout, Hyde Park and even Mt. Adams. Since then development has shifted even further out to more contemporary suburbs and exurban communities now gobbling up precious farm land in all directions. In the mean time, Cincinnati’s many hillsides have been largely ignored and allowed to either be over- or under-developed.

According to The Hillside Trust, 15 square miles, or 18%, of Cincinnati’s total land area is hillsides. Of the nearly 265,000 acres of land in Hamilton County approximately 60,043 acres, or 23%, consist of hillsides with similar percentages found in Northern Kentucky’s three primary counties – Campbell, Kenton and Boone.

On the Greek islands the exact opposite approach was taken after early Bronze Age settlers developed their communities. Those inhabitants quickly realized that they had to preserve their limited amount of tillable land, and as a result shifted their settlement patterns to the hillsides so that the other, more productive, land could be used for agricultural purposes. While less relevant to non-Medieval cultures like America, those living on the Greek islands also developed their communities in steep valleys where water would run-off from the higher lands towards to sea as a means of safety since these areas could often not be seen by passing ships.

On Santorini, the flat lands are largely preserved for agricultural purposes [LEFT] while the the densely built Thira is located directly on the caldera [RIGHT].

The development strategies found in Greece’s large urban center, Athens, are probably the most relevant as the city has developed in a way to maximize their urban center in a way to preserve surrounding natural resources.

Athens is the capital of Greece and the hub of its economic activities. The city accounts for roughly one-third of the country’s total population while dating back to 3,000 BC. Similar to Cincinnati, Athens is located within the Attica Basic that is surrounded by mountains to the north, northeast, east and west with the Saronic Gulf situated like the Ohio River to the southwest. The natural boundaries helped to influence dense development patterns in the Greek capital much like early Cincinnati. Unlike Cincinnati though, Athens has largely maintained these natural barriers over time as a means for continuing dense, urban development that concentrates the region’s growth into a relatively small area.

The balance struck in Athens is one of sustainability impacts. The conquering development patterns on natural hillside landscapes are as non-sustainable environmentally as they are sustainable economically in their immediate setting. The environmental gains are seen through the preservation of natural resources outside of the urban center. Similar sustainability processes can be seen in other major cities around the world including New York City which boasts one of the lowest carbon footprints per capita even though the city made a previously natural habitat virtually unrecognizable.

Athens’ dominating urban landscape does not yield to the natural landscape in its urban core [LEFT] while Cincinnati’s urban landscape weakens immediately at its hillsides [RIGHT].

A more densely built urban environment in Cincinnati needs to occur for it to experience similar economic and environmental sustainability benefits. The region’s resources are spread too thin to provide adequate public services to all, the region’s population is spread too thin to experience robust cultural benefits, and the region is wasting some of the nation’s most fertile farmland for cheap, low-density single-family subdivisions and strip commercial development.

Before expanding out, the Cincinnati region should examine its available land resources and determine where infill is best suited. Vacant lots initially will make the most sense, but following that, Cincinnati’s hillsides should be seriously examined for smart development typologies like the ones found on the Greek islands that respect viewsheds, private property interests and the natural setting of the hillsides. This will not only make Cincinnati more economically and environmentally more sustainable, but it will make Cincinnati unique compared to other like cities across the United States that lack these creative hillside development opportunities.

Disclosure: Randy A. Simes worked for The Hillside Trust as a GIS Consultant from 2007 through 2009, and this editorial does not necessarily represent the views or values of The Hillside Trust.

Categories
Development News Transportation

Cincinnati installs new bicycle racks inside Fountain Square Garage

Photo by Thadd Fiala

As part of Cincinnati’s commitment to improving the city’s bicycling community, the City has installed a new mounted bicycle rack inside of the Fountain Square Parking Garage in downtown Cincinnati. The bicycle rack is the first of what will be a wave of new bicycle parking facilities inside existing City-owned garages.

In February, Cincinnati’s Planning Commission approved a bicycle parking ordinance that will require all new or expanded parking garages to provide bicycle parking. The ordinance would specifically require that one bicycle parking space be provided for every 20 motor vehicle spaces. The ratio is comparable to those found in other cities like Portland, New York City, Charlotte, San Francisco, Kansas City and Denver which have all recently implemented similar ordinances.

The Fountain Square Parking Garage currently holds 635 parking spaces for automobiles which would mean should it be constructed today, the garage would be required to provide 24 bicycle parking spaces due to the 24-space cap included in the new ordinance for large parking garages. The new bicycle parking ordinance is the first of its kind in the region and is intended to tackle the problem of a lack of secured, covered bicycle parking spaces in Cincinnati’s center city.

The new rack inside the Fountain Square Parking Garage holds 12 bicycles, cost approximately $1,400 and was paid for through the City’s existing Bicycle Transportation Program. Officials from the City’s Department of Transportation & Engineering say that preliminary discussions are underway to incorporate more of these racks in other City-owned garages, but that public feedback would be helpful as officials determine where to locate them next.

Please share your thoughts on where the City should install these bicycle racks next in the comment section below, by filling out a form on the City’s website, or by calling (513) 591-6000.


View City-Owned Parking Garages in a larger map