Neighborhood Enhancement Program targets Roselawn blight, improves community engagement

Earlier this month, Roselawn wrapped up the Neighborhood Enhancement Program, a 90-day collaborative effort among city departments, neighborhood residents and community organizations focusing on developing neighborhood assets. The program started the momentum, and now it’s up to the neighborhood and its residents to continue it.
 
The goal in Roselawn was to develop neighborhood assets and improve the quality of life for residents as well as improve community engagement, educate residents on fire and police safety, train landlords, recycle and improve the neighborhood’s overall health and wellness.
 
Roselawn is home to Cincinnati’s first year-round outdoor gym, YEP Fitness. The project was funded in just two months, as volunteers raised over $150,000 for new weather-proof equipment and a new track.
 
In October, 200 volunteers from the University of Cincinnati, local businesses and the Roselawn community helped clean up the neighborhood. They spent the weekend mowing lawns, cleaning up vacant lots, painting parking meters and fire hydrants and removing litter, debris and overgrowth from targeted areas.
 
During the NEP, parks and vacant lots were cleaned, bus stops were removed and consolidated, loitering was discouraged, flooding issues were resolved, blight was decreased and recycling was encouraged for residents and businesses. Roselawn now holds the record for the most completed building orders for homes of any of the previous NEP neighborhoods.
 
NEP partners included the Roselawn Community Council, the Roselawn Business Alliance, the City of Cincinnati, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, the American Red Cross, Operation DRIVEN Mercy Health Foundation and Deaconess Associations Foundation, among others.
 
Roselawn is the 20th Cincinnati neighborhood to participate in the NEP. Other neighborhoods included Avondale, Clifton Heights/University Heights/Fairview, College Hill, Corryville, Evanston, Madisonville, Mt. Washington, Northside, Over-the-Rhine, Price Hill and Westwood.