Brick by Brick

We don’t have enough houses or apartments. However, plenty of people may have extra space in their house for a separate garage, attic or basement apartment. And they might even be able to build a separate structure in their backyard. California, Oregon and Washington states have built an estimated 100,000 of these, so-called-Accessory Dwelling Units or ADUs. They are now legal in Cincinnati and co...

Vehicles spend most of their time parked. And because of that, for years cities have dictated how many parking spots developers should include based on sometimes arbitrary numbers. But do those numbers still make sense and could reducing them allow for more housing and development? An increasing number of cities are getting rid of those so-called parking mandates or parking minimums, including Cin...

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Cincinnati and Dayton have some of the highest rates of eviction filings in the nation. And with rents continuing to rise, it’s unclear when those evictions will start slowing down. On this episode of Brick by Brick we examine one possible solution that could even the playing field in eviction court. It’s called Right to Counsel, or the right of a tenant to be represented in court. Dayton is start...

In this special episode, known as a Solutions Sidebar, Brick by Brick interviews authors Richard and Leah Rothstein on what role the government played to segregate society and how to undo it. We get their insights on everything from barriers to home ownership and rent equity to how communities can level the playing field. In the interview and in their book Just Action , the Rothsteins explain how...

Zoning dictates how our communities are designed. For decades Cincinnati’s zoning has favored detached single-family homes. But with rising home prices and skyrocketing rents, the city looks to house more people through “missing middle” housing. On this episode of Brick by Brick we look at Cincinnati’s bold new zoning reform plan called Connected Communities and its potential impact. Brick by Bric...

Cincinnati is number two nationally converting office space into apartments. Dayton is also doing it. On this episode of Brick by Brick we look at how this possible solution can create more housing and whether this mode of up-cycling has any constraints. Brick by Brick Journalist Hernz Laguerre Jr. tours both luxury apartments in Dayton and the first new affordable apartments in Cincinnati’s downt...

Is a Cincinnati response to out-of-town investors now a national model for preserving local affordable housing? On this episode of Brick by Brick, we’re diving into a solution created by The Port (short for Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority), in which an agency or non-profit effectively buys up affordable housing – competing against institutional or Wall Street investors – in order...