Why Urban Pioneers?

By Robert Wilson

This paper provides reasoning and rationale behind the urbanist movement and Robert Wilson's plans to regaining the population lost from Cincinnati.

Cincinnati has worked hard to regain the people who left the city for the suburbs or other areas of the country. One of the more well-known attempts would have to be the Huntington Meadows site where an apartment complex was shut down for "health" reasons and redeveloped into mostly single-family homes. There is, however, a problem with this redevelopment. I believe this will be another failed attempt to attract families to the city.

With these new homes being sold in the upwards of $250,000 to $350,000, it is obvious who the market is for -- middle-class families. When asking families what draws them to an area, the responses, undoubtedly, are the schools. For similar prices, you can buy a house in Mason or West Chester, where you don't have to worry about the shoddy state of public education. What would make city leaders think that families would locate in Cincinnati, which has higher taxes, a higher crime rate, and a poor public education system, over areas where they could pay the same amount for a house and get so much more? Cincinnati needs to focus on demographics that are actually willing to live in an urban area. This is why my strategy focuses on the urban pioneers.

The urban pioneers consist of empty nesters (parents whose children no longer live with them), young professionals, the "culture crowd" (musicians, artists, etc.), and professional immigrants. What do these demographics have in common? No kids. Because they do not have kids, they don't have to worry about the current state of Cincinnati Public Schools. Some critics say that this type of mentality ignores families we have managed to retain and also that it only pertains to downtown. I would like to address these two criticisms.

Will this mentality ignore families that we have managed to retain? The answer to this is no. I believe this urban pioneer movement is the first of two steps in regaining the population of Cincinnati. The urban pioneer movement will reinforce and improve the conditions for the residents we already have and will eventually put the city in a position that is attractive to families. By motivating urban pioneers (people actually willing to live in urban areas) to live within the city, we will effectively bring in a stronger tax base and people who care and contribute to the many communities of Cincinnati.

Will this movement only pertain to downtown? The answer to this is also no. As of now, the pockets of urban pioneers we actually do have live mostly outside of downtown. Most of our urban pioneers live in neighborhoods like Northside, Clifton, East Walnut Hills, Mt. Adams, Oakley, Hyde Park, and CUF; and we are seeing expansion in such neighborhoods as Over-the-Rhine, Mt. Auburn, Downtown, and Walnut Hills. By using our resources wisely, we can solicit the urban pioneers to the city, which will contribute to a cycle of positivism. With concerned residents in our communities, we will see a rise in property values due to a lower crime rate and better upkeep of property, which will ensure more property taxes being paid into the system. With 25 percent of all property taxes going to education, we can begin to compete with suburban school systems and consequently, attract more families to the city. The state of the city will continue to rise rather than fall like we have seen in more recent years. I hope you will join me in November to vote for a plan that will work for Cincinnati.