Metro’s sales tax increase can improve streets, sidewalks, bridges in the county’s small towns
Tens of millions have been awarded to projects outside the city of Cincinnati, making the tax a significant source of funding for small towns.
First Suburbs—Beyond Borders
Together again: Towns work to reconnect neighborhoods divided by trains and automobiles
Six neighboring communities are figuring out how to restore the small-town connections they enjoyed before the interstate highway and the railroad carved them up.
A ‘sleepy little town’ awakens with new housing and community gathering space
An idea conceived nearly 10 years ago, Delhi Towne Square is part of a movement toward people-oriented places that offer the benefits of being part of a community.
The Norwood Plan: Strengthening the city’s connections
The Congress for New Urbanism sponsored a plan to reconnect neighborhoods disconnected by the automobile-focused planning of the previous century.
In North Bend, a tiny village has big plans for a riverfront park and historic site
The William Henry Harrison Riverfront Park would be an $11 million project that pays homage to the history of the site, the stories of Harrison and his family, the indigenous people who populated the Ohio and Miami valleys, and the importance of the Ohio River to the region’s history and culture.
Sharonville controls its downtown’s destiny
Property control makes it unlikely that a gas station, dollar store, fast-food franchise or the like will move in to the city's emerging downtown.
The stories of our time: Our best-read journalism of 2023
In 2023, Soapbox's 15th year, our writers and photographers discovered stories of community, entrepreneurship, neighborhoods, talent, innovation, and more. Here are the ones our readers liked best.
Despite controversies, mayor’s courts are fixtures of small-town justice
Ohio is one of only two states with mayor's courts, whose origins date to 19th century Cincinnati.
A new library will serve as community gathering space and a spark for further development
Forest Park's ambitious redevelopment plans got a jump start from an unlikely source – the library.
Mill Creek: Far from dead, the urban waterway has potential for recreation throughout its course
A 43-mile trail along two branches of the stream would connect more than a dozen Hamilton County communities.
