‍Plan Cincinnati: The City of Cincinnati’s First Comprehensive Plan in over 30 Years‍

Background Information

Cincinnati holds a prestigious position in the history of city planning in the United States. In 1925, Cincinnati was the first city in the US to have a comprehensive city plan approved by a city council. Since that time, the plan has only been updated twice — in 1948 and in 1980.

The current plan, the Coordinated City Plan of 1980, was over 30 years old. As our city and the world have changed dramatically since 1980, a new long-range plan was needed to help us coordinate current projects and also help us be proactive in seizing opportunities instead of reacting to problems after they arise.

When we began the process of developing Plan Cincinnati in 2009, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), US Department of Transportation (DOT), and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined together to help create more livable communities by creating the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

They developed six Livability Principles to guide their work:

•Provide more transportation choices

•Promote equitable and affordable housing

•Enhance economic competitiveness

•Support existing communities

•Coordinate and leverage federal policies and investment

•Value communities and neighborhoods

Plan Cincinnati supports all six of these principles.

Goals of the Initiative

The objective of Plan Cincinnati is to guide the city’s future. The Comprehensive Plan will inform current and future decision makers of where we are now, where we want to go, how we intend to get there and who will help us along the way.

Parties and Partners to the Initiative and Resources Used for Implementation

Plan Cincinnati was proposed by Mayor Mark Mallory in 2007.

The city of Cincinnati played a primary role in almost every action step of Plan Cincinnati. The plan, however, was created through an inclusive process involving residents, government, business leaders, community groups and other stakeholders. The efforts of those involved in the creation were also relied upon to help implement the plan.

The resources used for implementing the initiative include:

The major resource used to implement the plan was the community of Cincinnati under the supervision of city planning and building staff and additional city departments. The community-based plan was aided by city outreach programs to foster public participation.

A group of approximately 40 people provided direction and oversight through a steering committee. Goals and action steps of the plan were achieved through the efforts of working groups comprised of local stakeholders and city staff.

Involving the public in the full decision making process helped us incorporate their concerns early on in the planning process when changes were easier to make, rather than late in the process thereby saving both time and money.

Obstacles and Solutions for Innovation

One of the biggest challenges faced was getting children and young adults to participate in the planning process. Creating awareness among the younger population and understanding their concerns and image for the future of our city was important to us.

A program called “Planting the Future” was developed to provide Cincinnati’s youth a voice to express their hopes, dreams, fears and concerns about the future of the city, incorporating concepts from art therapy. Flowerpots were used as vessels for expression, with local students asked to paint their fears and concerns on the inside of the pots and their visions and dreams for the future of Cincinnati on the outside of the pots.

The Planting the Future program revealed that an overwhelming majority of the children who participated dreamed of having a clean and safe city with jobs offering a livable wage and transportation alternatives.

The planning staff also identified 18-30 year olds as an additional population that was difficult to reach and therefore lacking in participation. A special course was held at the University of Cincinnati to engage the youth. Taught by Margaret Wuerstle, chief planner of Cincinnati, it allowed students to write their own chapter for Plan Cincinnati entitled “Investing in the Future: Engaging Cincinnati Youth”.

As with the Planting the Future program, the vision for Cincinnati of our younger population remained constant:  A clean, safe, interconnected city with opportunity for a higher quality of life.

Outcomes and Assessments

Outcomes achieved are as follows:

Plan Cincinnati will directly benefit our city in many ways:

•It will produce a focused vision for our city’s future needs and aspirations, aiding in appropriate budget allocation and investment

•It will serve as a marketing tool to attract new businesses and people to our city, as prospective residents and investors will be able to clearly understand where Cincinnati is headed and what our priorities are

•It will assure increased public support for future projects that meet the plan, since residents and community groups participated and know that their voices were heard

•It will give Cincinnati a competitive edge in our region by providing a highly livable and sustainable urban environment conducive for growth and development

Long-term impacts anticipated from implementing Plan Cincinnati:

•An increase in our population base by creating a highly livable environment that will attract and retain population from in and around the area

•Improved centers of activities, neighborhood character and natural resources

•A boost in our economic development and job growth by redirecting investments and supporting entrepreneurship opportunities within the city

•A highly walkable urban environment where people and social interactions are given priority over automobiles

•Strategic spending of our public funds to make positive impact without spending beyond our means

•Healthier and happier people by improving the overall quality of life for our residents

•Reduced environmental impacts on our natural resources by adopting sustainable practices

•Stronger community organizations by improving communication between city and community

Methods Applied

The implementation of Plan Cincinnati was guided by four comprehensive principles which strategically guided the location of future investment and growth:

•Focus revitalization of existing centers of activity

•Link centers of activity with effective transportation for maximum accessibility

•Create new centers of activity where appropriate

•Maximize industrial reinvestment in existing industrial areas

Benefits to Other Cities

Plan Cincinnati has adopted an innovative approach in making a comprehensive city plan, and the concept embraced here can be replicated in other cities nationally and internationally.

By viewing the city as “centers of activity” instead of classifying them based on the traditional land use categories, Plan Cincinnati promotes a planning strategy that makes the city more livable and vibrant while addressing present day issues.

This overall geographic principle has guided Plan Cincinnati and the implementation of its strategies. This approach can be replicated in any city around the world that is trying to design communities around pedestrian-scale main streets surrounded by residential developments.