New political leadership in Cincinnati is centering housing equity in a proposal that would ease zoning restrictions and streamline Low Income Housing Tax Credits, among other measures.
New Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval announced this week a package of housing reforms that could potentially put a major dent in the city's supply of single-family zones.
Allison Babke summarizes the package as follows in an article for CityBeat:
Pureval said that he will introduce a motion to Cincinnati City Council to conduct a comprehensive housing incentive and zoning review. The motion also would engage residents and remove housing barriers, Pureval said. The review and legislation that follows will guide Cincinnati's future growth and boost mixed-income affordable housing instead of concentrating incentives in neighborhoods that already are wealthy, he added.
According to Babke, Reggie Harris, council member and chair of the equitable growth and housing committee, is already working on a proposal to "update zoning laws that currently deem certain multi-family units illegal."
Both Mayor Puerval and Councilmember Harris are quoted in the article iterating the importance of equity in guiding housing reforms, increasing housing options and affordability in Cincinnati neighborhoods that historically have been left out of redevelopment investments.
A separate article by Becca Costello for WVXU headlines a different component of the proposal: tax abatements to developers applying for federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). Councilmember Harris, again, is writing an ordinance that would streamline the LIHTC application process.
Additional news coverage of Cincinnati's new housing reform agenda is available in articles for WCPO and Spectrum News 1.
FULL STORY: Cincinnati Announces New Equitable Housing Policy Reforms
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association