Gentrification Disguised As Urban Revitalization

Minority populations and those of low-socioeconomic status are among the most vulnerable to housing instability. When people are pushed out of their long-time homes into more disinvested areas, they are pushed farther away from jobs, access to affordable and healthy food, medical services, and social service resources.  Additionally, if people are not getting their basic needs met such as having a dry, temperature-controlled, clean home, they cannot sufficiently address their other needs. [01]  Housing stability, or lack thereof, is a determinant of health that can affect rates of infectious diseases, chronic diseases, injuries, childhood development and nutrition, mental health, and create inequities in housing which can lead to more health disparities. [02]  The stress of being displaced from an area your family has lived in for generations can have detrimental health effects, and unsustainable mortgage or rent payments correlate with lower self-reported mental health. [03]

Over-the-Rhine (OTR) is a neighborhood just north of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio with health-related issues tied to housing instability from gentrification since the early 2000s. The neighborhood is currently home to Cincinnati’s largest concentration of businesses, social services, and subsidized housing. [04]  OTR has recently undergone urban development resulting in the displacement  of the 80% black working-class community who has resided there for generations. [05]  This is not a new problem, as shown in the context of the OTR neighborhood; housing instability should not be treated as a new type of crisis but a crisis that oppressed groups have faced for decades. [06]

History of the Over-The-Rhine Neighborhood

To understand the context of this situation, a thorough understanding of this neighborhood’s history is needed. OTR began as a German immigrant hub in the 1830s and 1840s which the culture of the neighborhood continues to reflect. [07] Findlay Market opened in 1855 and later morphed into an expensive farmers market—within walking distance to those living in OTR but not affordable for those same people. Many cultural businesses were created in the OTR neighborhood including breweries, Music Hall and Hamilton County Memorial Hall. As the breweries became larger, the wealthy German employees and entrepreneurs could afford to move out of the packed city and into the suburbs. Appalachian immigrants and African Americans moved into the city to capitalize on the industrial jobs offered in the city and the inexpensive rents. The living conditions were poor: many apartments were without running water and no outside investments arrived to aid in quality, safe, affordable housing.

In the 1960s and 70s, African Americans who had low-income moved into OTR because they were pushed out of their neighborhoods when the highways I-71 and I-75 were built. Over the next thirty years, more organizations threw money into OTR to preserve the historical buildings rather than adding quality, affordable housing. [08]  In 2001, one of the largest providers of subsidized housing in OTR went bankrupt, resulting in a loss of 1,089 subsidized homes. [09]

Today, the population most affected by the gentrification and housing instability are black, working-class, low-socioeconomic status individuals. In 2010, OTR still had a 72% black community. [10]  By 2014 the population of OTR changed to two-thirds white. [11]  In 2018, one need only walk north on Vine Street and cross Liberty Street to see the situation is noticeably different for the two populations: immediately run down houses and cracked sidewalks are prevalent—this part of OTR is still 80% black and has not yet been redeveloped. [12]

Role of 3CDC

Real estate consultant, John Alschuler, was the architect behind revitalizing OTR (Woodard, 2016). Beginning in the early 2000s, Alschuler marketed the endeavor as a mixed-income neighborhood that would be great for everyone in Cincinnati. He insisted there not be any more studies on the neighborhood to evaluate its needs but rather hire outside people to run the project. He then eliminated the original planning committee for the project and created his own non-profit, 3CDC, with funding from several large Cincinnati based corporations. New restaurants were created, the park was revitalized and infrastructure was added to make a more walkable neighborhood. [13]

A study conducted by the Over-the-Rhine Community Council found that between 2002 and 2015 there was a 73% reduction in affordable housing.  [14]  This study illustrated large numbers of households either spend more than 30% of their income on housing or are forced to leave the neighborhood their family has lived in for generations. [15]  This population who is underserved has seen several waves of displacement over the past 50 years and it is unclear when the city, or its investors, will see the damage they are causing and begin incorporating community-based solutions to create a mixed-income and diverse neighborhood.

The new "hip place" to live

3CDC is the private firm in charge of the various projects within the OTR neighborhood. Much of the neighborhood has been transformed into walkable, trendy retail shops. This has been inviting for young people and artists who often come from affluent or middle-class backgrounds. But does this model fit for the multi-generational residents who may not be able to afford such a lifestyle?

Image source:  Sherry Hopkins

Click here to see how OTR is advertised

Issues with Housing Affordability

Housing instability has increased in OTR for those with low-income in part due to the decrease in affordable housing units and extremely high property tax breaks for developers. In Cincinnati, property taxes bring in about 7% of the city’s operating budget. [16]  In the past four years, a tenfold increase in building has occurred compared to the past decade which is thought to be a response to Cincinnati offering huge tax breaks to developers. These incentives are given to developers to entice them to come into the community to create more resources for the residents. Residents expect without proper legal protections or incentives for developers to build affordable housing, rising rent and increased property taxes will eventually force them to move. [17]

Figure 1: Map of Census Tracts 9, 10, 16, and 17 for Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati, OH

3CDC concentrated its efforts on Vine Street south of Liberty Street which is the line between census tracts 9 and 10. The crime rate of Vine has been cut in half and 3CDC’s vice president of marketing and communications attributes this to “feet on the street” and “eyes in the buildings.”  [18]

Figure 2:  OTR's % change in median gross rent

From 2002 - 2015, the OTR neighborhood experienced a 73% reduction in affordable housing. [19] In 2010, 40% of households in OTR made less than $10,000 per year. [20]  This figure shows OTR broken down into its four census tracts, 9, 10, 16 and 17.  For census tract 10, in 2010 the per capita income was $13,539. This is much lower than the other three census tracts where the second lowest is census tract 17 with a per capita income of $21,426. [21] 

In 2010, 62% of households in OTR were paying 30% or more of their income on rent, out of which an estimated 60% were paying 50% or more. [22]  Figure 2 illustrates the percent change in median gross rent between 2006-2010 and 2011-2015 in the different census tracts. Tracts 9 and 16 experienced a median gross rent increase of 24.84% or more. [23]  Census tracts 9 and 16 had lower per capita income compared with census tracts 10 and 17. [24]  There is a clear relationship between low-income dense areas and an extremely high increase in median rent.

One problem with 3CDC’s definition of “mixed-income” is that lower-income residents still find their model to be unaffordable. In order to extend their development past Vine Street, 3CDC created a mixed-use commercial and residential area made up of 28 condominiums, a large commercial space and parking garage. [25]  In 2014, they completed the next phase which was mixed-income housing with 44.8% of the apartments labeled as affordable housing. The original residents of OTR have not experienced the necessary increase in opportunity for higher paying jobs, which is seen through the median household income north of Liberty Street, census tracts 16 and 17, remaining at around $11,000. [26]  However, south of Liberty Street, census tracts 9 and 10 — where the bulk of the neighborhood development has been directed — the median household income has risen to over $40,000 per year. [27]  Those making less than $20,000 per year, (71% of OTR’s population in 2010) cannot afford an apartment in the mixed-income housing unit. [28]  The additional promised affordable housing units that are being built or will be built in OTR are all market-rate units. [29]

Ignorance is not bliss

"Gentrification’s main goal is to fulfill a tourist mentality, but instead of renovations happening over the course of several years, we are beginning to experience a hyper-gentrification that’s focusing on corporate welfare. The city then turns a blind eye on its duty to protect the area’s already-existing communities.”

-- Dr. Andrew Leong, University of Massachsetts Boston  (The News Record)

Image:  Madison Schmidt | Photo Editor of The News Record

Click here to read the full article.

OTR apartment rents are on the rise, as is the median income of the community. This is because those who cannot afford the housing price increase are forced north to an underdeveloped and underserved area of Cincinnati with affordable housing but lacking many of the resources OTR offers—development is concentrated but not widespread. [30]  3CDC has met their goal: increase mixed-use housing in order to decrease crime and increase the perceived vitality of the neighborhood. However, their goal of mixed-income housing has not been met which has cost thousands of people their homes, community support, and access to necessary resources.

Potential Solutions

OTR is not an anomaly; stories of gentrification continue to permeate our literature about urban areas. Solutions seem elusive at times because the issues are so multi-dimensional. Politics and economics drive this issue which are difficult to combat with typical public health solutions. Knowing this, two solutions are proposed based on other similar cities’ plans and actions. Gentrification is a piece of OTR’s history but does not need to be a part of their future.

The inspiration for the housing policy idea created is “A Roadmap Toward Equity: Housing Solutions for Oakland, California.” [31]  They call for policy changes that will prevent displacement of multi-generational residents, improve their housing conditions, and increase affordable housing stock. Their plan is intricate but one significant recommendation was the city should work with regional bodies to form a partnership leading to a housing trust fund. They hope to gain money for this trust by requiring developers to give 25% of their proceeds when building non-affordable housing units. [32] This could be modeled from the Ontario-based organization, Healthy Communities Coalition (HCC), which seeks to create space for innovative solutions and build sustainable and equitable communities. HCC leads many projects which intervene on the policy, organization and community level. [33]

An important regulation in OTR is ensuring there are enough affordable housing units. One method would be offering tax breaks for developers who build apartments with rent that is affordable: less than 15% of current AMI or 30% of 2010 AMI. This is an attainable solution because the city currently offers tax breaks for developers; this would simply shift how and why certain developers would receive tax breaks. To further incentivize this tax break, the city could require developers who do not build affordable housing units to pay a certain percentage of their revenue to community organizations who help support people who no longer can afford their current rent. However, this solution does not fix many of the other health issues that plague those who are being gentrified. As mentioned earlier, people feel they are being pushed out of OTR because of increasing rent and property taxes and feel increased financial stress. People are also feeling a lack of engagement in the decision-making process which makes them feel as if their basic human rights are being ignored. [34] 

At the end of the day, it is possible to bring wealth to low-income neighborhoods in a way that everyone can thrive in a vibrant and healthy community. The most important thing for newcomers to understand is that they must fit their new ideas and expectations to the needs of those who may not be as financially or geographically flexible as themselves.

 A well-known activist in Cincinnati, Buddy Gray, once said this about OTR: “We’re much like a colony far away in the Third World who’s being attacked by outsiders who want our land. Our land is really valuable now, and we are not.” [35]  This statement seems more applicable than ever. Currently, organizations are working on their own and journalists are writing exposés to convince the council members of the negative impacts that arise from allowing 3CDC to develop without being forced to respect the wishes of the neighborhood’s population. While the OTR Community Council is doing great work, they need to connect beyond individuals in the community to more organizations. Therefore, a community coalition should form with the intent to connect local organizations with residents of OTR. The coalition also needs to recruit the newcomers who have moved into OTR. Without their voting support, it will be far more difficult to create meaningful change to the OTR neighborhood.

This community coalition should hold meetings and re-write the original community plan (originally titled “Over-the-Rhine Comprehensive Plan”) with OTR council members and the Cincinnati City Board of Directors as the primary intended audience. The document must illustrate why the residents’ ideas and lives are valuable, and how they are not currently being respected. It will also need to be realistic; the original document was extensive and had widespread support but without financial buy-in from policy-makers, 3CDC was able to ignore their suggestions and proceed with its plans. [36]  OTR’s organizations have the power to increase social cohesion by forming a coalition that will connect residents with policymakers who can influence how developers are regulated. Such efforts will undoubtedly require creativity, hard work, and patience.

Conclusion     

The combination of stress and low social support can lead to negative health outcomes. [37]  Therefore, increasing social support and cohesion in this community is vital if change is to occur. Nevertheless, Yvette Simpson who is a councilwoman in Cincinnati said 3CDC is a private nonprofit and therefore does not need to answer to the community, only the organization’s board. Simpson’s advice was, “What probably can and should happen going forward is for the city to be a more meaningful intervener to help make sure the expectations the community has for 3CDC are more realistic, and that 3CDC becomes more transparent.” [38]  A combination of policy and a community coalition is important to give responsibility to both OTR residents and the city government if mobilization and change are to occur.

References:

[01]  Sing P. (2017) Where do you live? Retrieved from Politico Magazine: http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/05/23/housing-health-environment-harlem-doctor-000443.

[02]  Krieger J. & Higgins D.L. (2009) Article 5: Housing and Health: Time again for public health action. In Hynes H.P. & Lopez R. (Ed.), Urban Health (pg 101-127). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

[03]  Burgard, S. (2012) Housing instability and health: Findings from the Michigan recession and recovery study. Social Science & Medicine, 75(12):2215-2224.

[04]  McTague, C., & Jakubowski, S. (2013). Marching to the beat of a silent drum: Wasted consensus-building and failed neighborhood participatory planning. Applied Geography, 44(Supplement C), 182–191. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2013.07.019.

[05]  Woodard, C. (2016). How Cincinnati Salvaged the Nation's Most Dangerous Neighborhood. Retrieved from Politico Magazine: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/06/what-works-cincinnati-ohio-over-the-rhine-crime-neighborhood-turnaround-city-urban-revitalization-213969.

[06]  Madden D. & Marcuse P. (2016) Introduction: The residential is political. In Defense of Housing, (p. 1-13). Verso Books.

[07]   Aranibar, C., Henderson, F., Martin, A., Rocco, E., Rose, C., Ray Rubel, L., Stevenson, E., et. al. (2013). Over-the-Rhine History. Retrieved from Cincy.com: http://cincy.com/home/neighborhoods/parms/1/hood/over-the-rhine/page/history.html.

[08]  Ibid.

[09]  McTague, C., & Jakubowski, S. (2013). Marching to the beat of a silent drum: Wasted consensus-building and failed neighborhood participatory planning. Applied Geography, 44(Supplement C), 182–191. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2013.07.019.

[10]  Department of Planning and Buildings. (2012, April). Over-the-Rhine Statistical Neighborhood Approximations. Retrieved from City of Cincinnati: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/linkservid/B5547015-A0F1-CB62-3D788CC10EA7C3BD/showMeta/0/.

[11]  McTague, C., & Jakubowski, S. (2013). Marching to the beat of a silent drum: Wasted consensus-building and failed neighborhood participatory planning. Applied Geography, 44(Supplement C), 182–191. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2013.07.019.

[12] Ibid;  Woodard, C. (2016). How Cincinnati Salvaged the Nation's Most Dangerous Neighborhood. Retrieved from Politico Magazine: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/06/what-works-cincinnati-ohio-over-the-rhine-crime-neighborhood-turnaround-city-urban-revitalization-213969.

[13]  Ibid. (Woodard).

[14]  Community Building Institute. (2016). OTR/Pendleton 2015 Housing Inventory [PDF document]. Retrieved from Community Building Institute: http://otrcommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/OTR-Housing-Inventory-Presentation-1-21-2016.pdf.

[15] Ibid.

[16]  Seitz, A. (2017). OTR, Downtown developers cash in on city's property tax deals. Retrieved from WCPO Cincinnati: http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/otr-downtown-developers-cash-in-on-citys-property-tax-deals.

[17]  Ibid.

[18]  Department of Planning and Buildings. (2012, April). Over-the-Rhine Statistical Neighborhood Approximations. Retrieved from City of Cincinnati: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/linkservid/B5547015-A0F1-CB62-3D788CC10EA7C3BD/showMeta/0/.

[19] Ibid.

[20]  U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2017). Mixed-Use, Mixed-Income Redevelopment in Cincinnati. Retrieved from PD&R Edge: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_inpractice_030915.html.

[21]  Community Building Institute. (2016). OTR/Pendleton 2015 Housing Inventory [PDF document]. Retrieved from Community Building Institute: http://otrcommunitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/OTR-Housing-Inventory-Presentation-1-21-2016.pdf.

[22]   Department of Planning and Buildings. (2012, April). Over-the-Rhine Statistical Neighborhood Approximations. Retrieved from City of Cincinnati: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/linkservid/B5547015-A0F1-CB62-3D788CC10EA7C3BD/showMeta/0/.

[23]  U.S. Census. (2017). Percent Change in Median Gross Rent. 2006-2010 and 2011-2015. Retrieved from PolicyMap: https://umich-policymap-com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/maps. Accessed: November 9, 2017.

[24]  Ibid.

[25]  U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2017). Mixed-Use, Mixed-Income Redevelopment in Cincinnati. Retrieved from PD&R Edge: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_inpractice_030915.html.

[26]  Swartsell, N. (2017). Neighborhood groups are still fighting for a say in a proposed new development at Liberty and Elm. Retrieved from CityBeat: http://www.citybeat.com/news/news-feature/article/20860152/contested-crossroads.

[27]  Ibid.

[28]  Department of Planning and Buildings. (2012, April). Over-the-Rhine Statistical Neighborhood Approximations. Retrieved from City of Cincinnati: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/linkservid/B5547015-A0F1-CB62-3D788CC10EA7C3BD/showMeta/0/.

[29]  U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2017). Mixed-Use, Mixed-Income Redevelopment in Cincinnati. Retrieved from PD&R Edge: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_inpractice_030915.html.

Swartsell, N. (2017). Neighborhood groups are still fighting for a say in a proposed new development at Liberty and Elm. Retrieved from CityBeat: http://www.citybeat.com/news/news-feature/article/20860152/contested-crossroads.

[30]  Downtown Cincinnati Incorporated. (2016). The State of Downtown: The Progress of Downtown Cincinnati in 2016. Retrieved from http://www.downtowncincinnati.com/docs/default-source/Stakeholder-Docs/2017-sod.pdf?sfvrsn=2.

[31]  Rose, K., & Lin, M. (2015). A Roadmap Toward Equity: Housing Solutions for Oakland, California. Retrieved from http://www.policylink.org/sites/default/files/pl-report-oak-housing-070715.pdf

[32]  Ibid.

[33]  Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition. (2017). Retrieved from Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition: http://www.ohcc-ccso.ca/en

[34]  Smith, R. (2015). 3CDC in Over-the-Rhine: Between Two Worlds. Retrieved from Cincinnati Magazine: http://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/citywiseblog/3cdc-in-over-the-rhine-between-two-worlds/.

[35]  Ibid.

[36]  Over-the-Rhine Community Council. (2002). Over-the-Rhine Comprehensive Plan. Retrieved from:  https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/assets/File/2002_otr_comprehensive_plan.pdf.

[37]  Kaplan, R. M., Patterson, T. L., Kerner, D., Grant, I., & HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center. (1997). Social Support: Cause of Consequence of Poor Health Outcomes in Men with HIV. In Sourcebook of Social Support and Personality (pp. 279-297). New York: Plenum Press.

[38]  Smith, R. (2015). 3CDC in Over-the-Rhine: Between Two Worlds. Retrieved from Cincinnati Magazine: http://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/citywiseblog/3cdc-in-over-the-rhine-between-two-worlds/.

Cover Image Source:  Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine

All figures created by Brianne Brenneman