A Place To Call Home

Cincinnati is an old city. We have strong neighborhoods that generations of families call home. We have beautiful architecture, wonderful public spaces, and community landmarks. We are definitely not a cookie-cutter kind of a town and people have noticed!

In recent years, several Cincinnati neighborhoods have experienced an increase in real estate interest and market values have gone up. These investments present both an opportunity and a challenge for communities. While these neighborhoods are in need of investment, they are also home to long-time residents that have strong ties to their community. Our aging infrastructure, business districts, churches, schools, and our housing need some TLC. As reinvestment happens, who is part of the process and who benefits is a complex matter of private market and public intention.

Making intentional choices changes outcomes in communities. Investments should be made in ways that capitalize on this new market interest in our communities – but not at the expense of current residents. The “market” left to its own devices will maximize returns on investment – not create equitable, revitalized communities. If we want the later, we are going to have to work together to guide the market with sound policies, equitable tax structures, and public investments that create diverse, supportive communities. We should not leave it to the market to pick winners and losers. We should take advantage of this market interest and guide these needed reinvestments in ways that create revitalized neighborhoods where everyone benefits.

A place to call home is a fundamental part of someone’s sense of security, quality of life and his or her relationship to community. So the passion that comes with conversations about housing revitalization, affordable housing, and gentrification is understandable.  We are talking about more than just four walls and a roof; we are talking about the place people call home, who their neighbors are, the community they are a part of, and their family’s history and its memories. These are not things to be trifled with carelessly. We need to work together in respectful, collaborative ways to create a model of revitalization that does not displace people, but instead provides a place for everyone in the community to live in their neighborhood of choice.