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 NORTHSIDE
COMMUNITY
LAND USE PLAN
For
decades, change in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Northside
often tore down community bonds instead of building them
up. Two major highways built in the 1960s and 1970s cut
the neighborhood off from bordering communities. A railroad
running through it was abandoned, and the manufacturing
sector that had sustained the neighborhood for so long slowly
withered.
At
the same time, the neighborhood developed a reputation as
an urban village where everyone was accepted: black and
white, gay and straight, old and young. Northside’s
grand old homes attracted rehabbers while its more modest
housing remained affordable. The neighborhood’s business
district attracted a mix of merchants, from hip restaurants
and record stores to storefront churches, an old-fashioned
pharmacy and a grocery store for African immigrants.
When
the City of Cincinnati overhauled its zoning code for the
first time in more than 40 years, Northside residents and
business owners saw an opportunity to evaluate their neighborhood
from the bottom up. They set out to create a land-use plan
that included not only recommendations for zoning and development,
but also a vision for preserving and enhancing their quality
of life.
"What
we were trying to do is develop a plan for our grandchildren,
working holistically and charting a course for the next
generation," says Tim Jeckering, an architect who served
as president of the Northside Community Council during the
development of the land-use plan.
Northside
approached the Community Building Institute in 2003 for
help creating the plan. The neighborhood had a team of professionals
who had already committed to working on the plan: architects,
urban planners, a real-estate broker, a design student.
They knocked on doors, handed out surveys and held a series
of community meetings and planning sessions. The level of
interest surprised and encouraged Todd Kinskey, a professional
planner and Northside resident who served on the steering
committee.
"It
was very exciting as a professional planner to see neighbors
rolling up their sleeves and getting involved in deciding
what the future of their neighborhood should be," Kinskey
says. "The more people you can involve and the more
people you get to accept a plan – you empower the neighborhood
to feel like they’re part of shaping the future of
the community."
CBI
associate director Liz Blume facilitated meetings where
residents pored over maps, formulated goals and weighed
compromises in their differing visions. Blume, a professional
planner, advised them of legal and planning issues and challenged
them on some assumptions, but  in
the end the decisions were all the work of neighborhood
residents.
"At
times I'd say, professionally this is the advice I'd give
you, but ultimately it's your choice," she says. "You
have to bring your background and expertise to the table,
but you also have to remember you’re only one voice
at the table."
As
members continued their work, some surprises emerged. While
the neighborhood is densely populated and thoroughly urban,
it is surrounded by greenspace: parks, nature preserves,
Mt. Airy Forest and Spring Grove Cemetery . Connecting and
preserving that green space was a shared priority of most
of the people who participated in the process. Housing and
commercial development emerged as two important priorities.
Participants
also focused on the cultural and human needs of the community,
and they emphasized improving the quality of life by focusing
on education, youth, safety and crime. It wasn't a typical
land-use plan, but it reflected to a remarkable degree the
people who lived and worked there.
"Once
we said, what assets do you want to build on, (residents)
said, 'It's a very tolerant neighborhood, it’s very
diverse, we want to maintain and improve the quality of
life,' "Blume says. "It starts with assets, and
while that sounds like such a simple thing, it’s a
fundamentally different way of looking at the process."
Northside
Community
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