How a neighborhood that said “No” to everything became one that says “Yes”
Ten years ago, Westwood was so divided that community leaders suggested seceding from Cincinnati.
On The Ground
Soapbox Cincinnati and NKY thrives reported on five city neighborhoods including Walnut Hills, Covington, West End, Camp Washington, and Westwood continuously in the “On The Ground” series.
For each series, Soapbox gathered community residents, stakeholders, community councils and development organization partners to determine what stories the neighborhoods would like to tell. The community-shaped editorial calendar resulted in many of our favorite feature stories reported on between 2016 and 2020. There is genuine interest in urban communities that are often underreported and underrepresented in local media, especially during 2020, which was a year dominated by the national election, a pandemic and misinformation.
Soapbox hosted a weekly Community Open Newsroom in conjunction with the Walnut Hills series in the winter of 2020 headquartered at Caffè Vivace. Twenty-two neighborhood champions joined our live broadcasts hosted by Kathryne Gardette. Our Community Open Newsroom closed at the start of the nationwide COVID shutdown.
When the world shut down, Westwood created a safety net for kids and families in need
It didn’t happen overnight, but thanks to pre-existing asset maps of community services, residents created a bank of resources and ideas for maintaining community connections.
Rapidly growing Gamble High School is a rarity in the neighborhood
There are only about 25 Montessori High Schools in the country, with two in Cincinnati. West Side parents appreciate the child-led, self-paced, collaborative learning model offered through the program.
Creating an inviting culture in Westwood
Local business owners set up shop, hoping to anchor the community’s development.
Welcome to Westwood, where residents are changing racial attitudes one conversation at a time
After years of being divided, the community is slowly becoming united.
Moving Forward — together — in Camp Washington
In many neighborhoods, gentrification leaves longstanding residents out of the occasion. But in this neighborhood, everyone is invited to have a seat at the table.
Meet the makers: Here are the people renewing the community from the inside out
A hundred years ago, Camp Washington was one of the region’s largest hubs of industry, producing everything from pork products to steel casings. It also housed 12,000 residents, many of them making up the labor force that forged the “golden era” of Cincinnati’s economy in the early 20th century.
Residents, old and new, find a home and livelihood in welcoming Camp Washington
For those who have lived in the neighborhood since birth, there’s no other place to call home. And in the past few years, newer Campers are learning why.
Camp Washington residents create a brighter future
In this gritty, quirky neighborhood, citizens are working together from the ground up — literally — to invest in community development.
Makers and innovators love Camp Washington
Younger people are buying houses and artists are moving their studios into the neighborhood, setting the stage for revitalization.
