THE OVER-THE-RHINE NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING PROCESS: IS A "COMMUNITY DRIVEN" PLANNING PROCESS FEASIBLE?

 
 
 
 

THE OVER-THE-RHINE NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING PROCESS: IS A "COMMUNITY DRIVEN" PLANNING PROCESS FEASIBLE?

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Title: THE OVER-THE-RHINE NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING PROCESS: IS A "COMMUNITY DRIVEN" PLANNING PROCESS FEASIBLE?
Author: SMITH, APRIL L.
Description: This thesis is a case study of the first seven months of the Over-the-Rhine Neighborhood Planning Process, initiated September 2000. Planning process meetings were attended and interviews with principal players were conducted in order to examine citizen participation techniques in practice, and to determine how this process was faring. A literature review establishes the positive and negative aspects of citizen participation techniques, and looks at citizen participation in other neighborhood planning processes. Also, the history of planning for the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood is briefly outlined. The main themes of the process are discussed. The question is asked: "How community driven was this process?" and the answer is found by exploring the roles of the actors involved: citizen participants, the Cincinnati City Planning Department, and consultants. Two other arising themes are discussed: (1) a request by involved residents for a training program and (2) the more proactive role taken by citizen participants as they settled into the process near the end of the study's observation period. Three major problems plagued the process: (1) The participants were not a unified group capable of coming to a consensus, (2) there was a lack of trust between the residents and the "outsider" Cincinnati City Planning Department staff and consultants, and (3) the process was moving too slowly, making participant burn-out a very real possibility. It is concluded that in the Over-the-Rhine Neighborhood Planning Process, citizens were involved to an ambitious degree. It is furthermore concluded that such a highly participatory process is probably not feasible given the diverse nature of the citizens involved. A push for consensus is too idealistic considering that the participating residents and businesspeople of Over-the-Rhine desire very different things for their neighborhood. In addition, it is doubtful that citizen participants alone would show enough concern for what their neighborhood plan means for the city as a whole. The thesis closes with recommendations for the City Planning Department and citizen participants to help overcome the problems of the process as it continues past the study period.
Permanent Link: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin990631725
http://hdl.handle.net/2374.OX/11129
Date: 2001

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