Cincinnati residents will have an opportunity to share their thoughts about the City's future on Saturday, April 2 at the annual
Neighborhood Summit. This year's Summit, held at Xavier University's Cintas Center, will provide a forum for interactive discussions about the City's comprehensive plan and strategic development for neighborhoods. The ninth edition of the Summit will also provide residents with one of the last opportunities to make a contribution to the first draft of
Plan Cincinnati, the city's new comprehensive plan.
Charles Graves, the Director of the Department of City Planning and Buildings, notes that the city hasn't undertaken a comprehensive plan in thirty years.
"This comprehensive plan is like a business plan, except businesses naturally update strategic, marketing, and sales plans every five years. It's time to talk about how we want the city to look for the next thirty years and to get people interested in planning the future," he explains.
Attendees at the Summit will include community council leaders, members of grassroots organizations, institutions that support
neighborhoods, community-based non-profits, funders, and public officials. In addition to locally-led workshops and forums there will be keynote presentations by Shelley Poticha, Director for the Sustainable Housing and Communities at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Mitchell J. Silver, AICP, Planning Director, City of Raleigh, NC, and President Elect of the American Planning Association.
The day long program will feature presentations and panel discussions on Cincinnati's new Land Development Code, managing and eliminating blight, intra-neighborhood collaboration, and utilizing form based codes. The rest of the Summit's workshops are divided into three different themes: policy, character, and making an impact. Building better commercial areas, improving transportation, preserving historical architecture, and planning economic development are among the topics to be addressed. Graves says the most important aspect is involving citizens who are the most impacted by the neighborhoods that surround them.
"It's their city, we are the planners, but they are the residents who live in the neighborhood and impact it. They are impacted by good housing and bad housing, for example, and it is important to respect their ideas and values," Graves says.
According to Graves, economic development should be our top priority. He says it is extremely important to focus on increasing jobs and strengthening commercial areas. Graves also believes it is important to reach out to everyone, including children and elderly, as they already were successful with the
Planting the Future youth project.
Writer: Lisa Ensminger
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