Cincinnati City Council Hopes To Turn Vacant, Blighted Properties Into Urban Farms

Cincinnati City Council Hopes To Turn Vacant, Blighted Properties Into Urban Farms

Amanda Seitz | 6:46 AM, Jun 15, 2017

CINCINNATI -- What if rotting, vacant homes and abandoned, overgrown lands in some of the city's neighborhoods were transformed into urban farms growing fresh produce?

Cincinnati City Council is considering a new pilot program that could flip as many as 10 vacant parcels of land into gardens ready for planting anything from herbs to cucumbers.

Supporters believe the humble start to this project could ultimately alleviate some of the city’s most stubborn problems: food deserts, unemployment and blight.

“It will assist in taking that blight, that was a negative, and not only improving the look, but providing sustenance to the area as well,” said Cincinnati City Councilman Kevin Flynn, who proposed the program.

City crews have struggled to keep up with mowing and weeding the more than 1,000 properties – some of them condemned or abandoned by their owners, Flynn said.

That leaves neighbors frustrated with unkempt eyesores that abut their homes.

Flynn believes unkempt city-owned properties like these could see new life as urban farms. Photo by David Sorcher | WCPO contributor

“It got me thinking: Rather than it being a burden on the city to have to pay to maintain these spots … let’s give them to somebody that will maintain them and how about we plant some fruits and vegetables in these vacant spots?” Flynn told WCPO in an interview last week.

The motion he wrote calls for the city to develop a plan to convert urban farms on city-owned land, identify potential properties, and look into any costs the city might have to consider when launching the program.

His proposal passed with the full support of council earlier this month.

WCPO Insiders will learn how similar programs have worked in other cities, areas of Cincinnati where this development might occur and how it might be funded.