Forgotten neighborhoods: South Cumminsville

Last Saturday, the Cincinnati Enquirer published a story on the forgotten neighborhood of South Cumminsville.

South Cumminsville lies just south of Northside, in the Mill Creek Valley, and has faced many struggles with disinvestment.

Residents in the article question what the City plans to do to help after hearing all of the Council candidates' promises to "help the neighborhoods".

It's hard to imagine the City doing much, but here's my assessment of the five biggest neighborhood problems (in no particular order):

* The neighborhood is not even on the City's radar, and most developers/investors probably have no idea where it even is.
* Residents of the neighborhood are poorly organized and lack a powerful voice.
* No business district exists to provide a foundation for redevelopment.
* Housing is often dilapidated, and vacancies and foreclosures are high relative to most of the City.
* The population is increasingly aging and impoverished.

South Cumminsville Community Council President Roger Davis is quoted in the article as saying that they'd take anything - even a streetscape for Beekman Street that would help attract more business.

That won't do it.

Why? The Enquirer answers the question with its lede:

"There's not much reason to come here."

I plan on revisiting this topic off-and-on within the coming months. To kick things off, I'd like to start with some general proposals.

What would you do to improve the neighborhood of South Cumminsville?

There are only a couple of ground rules:

* Proposals must be within reason.
* Proposals must be legally sound.
* Proposals must use existing infrastructure.
* Proposals cannot use eminent domain or bulldozed owned buildings, unless condemned or vacant.

Let's hear what you've got!