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Agenda 360, a regional action plan

On February 13, Agenda 360, a regional action plan, announced its goals, priorities and strategies for southwestern Ohio including Cincinnati. The event was attended by more than 150 volunteers, government officials, business and civic leaders.

Agenda 360 is an action-oriented plan that desires a sweeping change for the region by the year 2020, in which the metropolitan area leads the nation in retaining and attracting talent, jobs and economic opportunity and development. It’s goals by the year 2020 include,

  • Adding an additional 150,000 20 to 34- year-olds to the region’s workforce, an increase of 50 percent.

  • Adding 200,000 net new jobs in the region, an increase of 50 percent over the historical job growth rate.

  • Creating economic self-sufficiency for all, and incorporating the United Way goal of income at a minimum of 250 percent above the federal poverty level for all households.

With this, Agenda 360 has set some lofty goals, but it is not without some guidance. In the fall of 2006, about 50 local civic leaders and officials journeyed to Boston to see how they had improved on some of their lingering issues for their region. What they discovered is that the issues that plagued the Boston metropolitan area were the same issues that plagued Cincinnati’. Except that Boston had set a basic list of priorities towards improving the city that were paying out dividends, so to speak.

In early 2007, Agenda 360 was launched using Northern Kentucky’s Vision 2015 growth plan as a model. A group of leaders from more than 30 organizations, including heads of labor unions, business groups, social service agencies and public officials, created a framework for tackling the lingering, difficult issues that face southwest Ohio. It partnered with the United Way State of the Community Report, so that poverty levels, educational attainment and health status, for instance, could be closely monitored and tracked – giving Agenda 360 a level of accountability.

Over 7,000 responded to the initial Agenda 360 Community Survey. In the survey, it found,

  • That 93% of respondents strongly endorsed the idea of transforming the region into a leading metropolitan area for talent, jobs and economic development.

  • That Agenda 360 be action-oriented, contain measurable goals, and be held accountable, which was sanctioned by 95% of respondents.

  • That 88% of respondents stated that they wanted Agenda 360 to choose a few key areas to focus on that will “truly transform the region.”

  • That the vast majority, 88%, agreed that it was critical that all, regardless of background or view, be included in the discussion.

Agenda 360 outlined six initiatives to focus on,

  • Creating a quality place, where the region creates strong, attractive and functional locales in which to live, work and play. Investment should be placed in strategic locations that have high potential for development and growth, and investments should include smart growth principles, arts and culture corridors partnered through community-based arts and cultural centers, and interconnected green spaces. Locales should be more environmentally sustainable and progressive as well.

  • Fostering business growth, in which the region uses its strengths to retain, attract and create businesses and jobs. Focus should be placed on established industries and ones that are emerging, such as the advanced energy, information technology and life science industries. In addition, the region’s strengths – it’s health care industry and the international airport, should be leveraged to foster additional growth.

  • Retaining a qualified workforce, in which the region retains its younger generation and provide them with the skills and tools necessary to find good jobs today and into the future. Focus should be placed on the preparation of children, to ensure that they are prepared to enter Kindergarten, and that they are well nurtured into college. In addition, parent-teacher institutes should be formed to keep parents engaged in education, and barriers to college affordability should be eliminated. Finally, the sole focus should not just be on traditional students, but also the adult workforce – more important today during these difficult economic times.

  • Improving transportation, by expanding our options for moving people and freight across the region. Investment should be made into the replacement of the Brent Spence Bridge, a backbone of transportation and economic vitality for the Cincinnati region, and into other transportation nodes that have been built and constructed by other savvy metropolitan regions. Multi-modal freight via road, water, air, and rail should also be emphasized.

  • Including all and working to create a welcoming community to which all people of all backgrounds and views are embraced and their differences are used not to divide, but to be used in the foundation for a community’s success. This includes providing health care for all at an affordable price through the Access Health 100 program. A healthy region cannot exist without healthy citizens.

  • And increasing government collaboration, in which many of the cities, counties and townships work together towards common goals.

I’ll leave UrbanCincy readers with some quotes that were part of the responses in the initial Agenda 360 surveys,

“Cincinnati is a city with a lot of untapped potential. It is full of beautiful spaces and creative and powerful minds, but there needs to be a place where all this meets up.”

“Please don’t spend 20 years discussing how to do it! Let’s get started with baby steps as soon as possible and keep everyone involved in the bigger vision.”

“Historically, Cincinnati has been slow to respond to a changing social and political environment. This kind of a visioning project is necessary to allow the region to properly prepare itself for the future.”

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Historic Bank Street Demolitions (update)

Several weeks ago local and regional preservationists united in an attempt to raise awareness of a potential demolition of four historic buildings in Cincinnati’s West End neighborhood. Emails were sent, calls were made, and awareness was reached to a certain extent.

Paul Wilham led these efforts locally and did not have much luck in getting a response back from the Mayor’s office on the matter. I sent my own email out on January 9th to all nine members of City Council and the Mayor’s office. Last week I got a response from Council member Leslie Ghiz (thank you) that included comments from the City’s Code Enforcement Division and Historic Preservation Department.

833-839 Bank Street – Photo by Kevin LeMaster

In the response there were several pieces of useful information. Code Enforcement clarified that the City primarily funds its demolitions with Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). This money is not allowed to be used in demolitions that might have an “adverse impact on a historic structure” as is the case for the Bank Street properties (Streetview). As a result of this contingency, the City engages in very little demolition work of historic structures.

In the particular case here it is the private owner who is preparing to demolish these structures – not the City. The current owners, the Reed family, have applied for the demolition permits and can go forth with the demolitions as planned unless something extraordinary happens.

The Reed family has been the subject of code enforcement actions in the past. Criminal prosecution even occurred in relation to compliance issues for 839 Bank Street. As a result the City has attempted to secure the buildings by barricading them on seven different instances since 2006. The Division cites that they have “no immediate plans to demolish these buildings by governmental action,” and that the owner can choose to either demolish the structures as they currently have planned, or they can bring the properties into compliance through repair.

The question was then asked if approval is needed, from the Historic Conservation Office, for private demolition in this historic district. The response was that in this particular case the answer appears to be “no.”

Additional Reading:
“West End Buildings Doomed” – Building Cincinnati

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Getting to know Cincinnati’s stimulus projects

If you’re not already familiar with Cincinnati’s stimulus projects then I suggest you get familiar. Cities from around the country have submitted their “shovel ready” projects to be considered for stimulus money. Cincinnati’s list has 48 projects* totaling $434,916,420.

Projects big and small fill out the list. You will find Cincinnati’s proposed streetcar system, streetscape improvement projects, RecycleBank, green roof projects, street grid for The Banks, stabilization/control of the Ohio River for the new Central Riverfront Park (CRP), forest carbon sequestration, and much more.

A new site – Stimulus Watch – allows you to look through the submitted items from cities all across the nation. The website allows you to vote on each of the submitted items. You can select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ as to whether you feel that particular project is critical and worthy of stimulus money. The site then categorizes these projects nationally by the Most and Least Critical, Most Expensive, and Most Active (by votes).

So far Cincinnati’s projects are faring quite well with the streetcar project leading nationally as the Most Critical project according to voters. Also high on the list is the street grid project for The Banks development, bank stabilization for the CRP, and streetscape improvements throughout Over-the-Rhine.

Visit the CINCINNATI PAGE to view all of Cincinnati’s included projects, and give your input on what you would and would not like to see the stimulus money go towards locally.

*DISCLAIMER – These projects are not part of the stimulus bill. They are candidates for funding by federal grant programs once the bill passes.

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A taste of Cincinnati’s Climate Protection Action Plan

In September of 2007, Mayor Mallory pushed for the creation of an Environmental Quality Department. This department would oversee the City’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and hopefully bring Cincinnati in alignment with goals set forth by the Kyoto Protocol set globally in 1992 (183 parties have ratified the Protocol as of 2008).

The Climate Protection Action Plan (CPAP) is the primary document and driving force behind Cincinnati’s localized efforts to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The plan has short, medium, and long term Greenhouse Gas reduction goals which average out to an annual GHG reduction of 2%.

  • Short Term – Reduce GHG emissions 8% below 2006 levels by 2012
  • Medium Term – Reduce GHG emissions 40% below 2006 levels by 2028
  • Long Term – Reduce GHG emissions 84% below 2006 levels by 2050

Within the CPAP there are 5 identified categories that include more than 80 Emission Reduction Measures. One of these measures – eating less meat – has gotten significant coverage over the past 24-36 hours and has caused quite a stir.

The idea is that people try to go one day a week without eating meat. It’s not a mandate or policy, just a suggestion. The response though has been chaotic and emotionally charged with comments filled with anger and misunderstanding.

% of global meat consumption – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The fact is that reduced meat consumption can have a very significant impact on our GHG emissions (read CPAP excerpt below). If all Cincinnati residents were to, on average, eat meat one less day per week it would constitute a 14% reduction in meat consumption. That 14% reduction would translate into the reduction of 26,400 tons of GHG emissions by 2012 (short term) and 52,800 tons by 2028 (medium term). This reduction is more profound than the estimated GHG emission reduction by Energy Star Residential Construction (2,500 tons by 2028), Programmable Thermostats (35,000 tons by 2028), Increased Bicycle Usage (6,300 tons by 2028), or Hybrid Transit Busses (12,771 tons by 2028).

Summary of specific issues – A 2006 report by the United Nations‘ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Livestock’s Long Shadow, found that the production of animals for food is responsible for over 18% of the planet‘s greenhouse gas emissions. This is more than twice that of the office buildings and homes (8%) and nearly 40% more than transportation emissions (13%). This figure represents 9% of the planetary carbon dioxide emissions, 37% of the methane (mostly from livestock flatulence and waste matter) and 65% of the nitrous oxide; the latter two gases having 23 times and 296 times the global warming potentials of CO2.

The report concluded ―The livestock sector emerges as one of the… most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global and finds it must become a major policy focus.

A 2005 University of Chicago report, Diet, Energy and Global Warming (597kb pdf) found that the added burden of meat diets above plant based diets accounts for 6% of US total greenhouse gas emissions. The Standard American Diet (SAD), of which around 28% of the caloric intake is derived from meat, produced 1.485 metric tons CO2 equivalent emissions (per person per year) more than an all plant based diet (a conservative figure). A red meat eater‘s mean diet increased this number to 2.52 tons CO2e. This is the equivalent difference between driving a sedan (Camry) and an SUV. A diet of just 20% meat produced an added GHG burden of 1 ton CO2e per person annually; this is the difference between a year of driving a standard sedan (Camry) and the highest efficiency hybrid (Prius).

With 80% of annual world deforestation connected to animal agriculture, an area the size of a football field is razed every second, a practice which has been termed ―”the ‘hamburgerization’ of our forests.” A single SAD meal levels 55 square feet of rain forest.

Estimated greenhouse gas reduction to be achieved – 26,400 tons by 2012 (10% reduction in meat consumption x 20% of the population and 100% reduction by 3% of the population x 1.6 tons/person); 52,800 tons by 2028 (20% reduction in meat consumption x 20% of the population and 100% reduction by 6% of the population x 1.6). The goal will be to have all Cincinnati residents, on average, eat meat one less day per week by 2012, which would be a 14% reduction in meat consumption. The projected GHG emission reductions are based on a more conservative forecast of actual behavior.

Read the full report here (1.94mb pdf).