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As evictions and the number of people experiencing homelessness remain high, keeping people in their homes could come down to an algorithm. If homeless prevention agencies got a heads up on who was at-risk and what types of bills they were having trouble paying, they could help prevent an eviction even before an eviction notice. Cincinnati and other cities are trying it. Maidstone, England has data to back it up. 

Interview guests: Kevin Finn, president of Strategies to End Homelessness; Amy Riegel, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio; Raúl Ordóñez, University of Dayton professor of electrical and computer engineering, and more. 

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Vacant and abandoned property accelerates the decline of neighborhoods. How can we make this land more productive? An increasing number of governments and non-profit organizations are turning to land banks as a partial solution. 

Interview guests: National Land Bank Network Director Brian Larkin, Montgomery County Land Bank Senior Advisor Mike Grauwelman, The Port’s Executive Vice President Philip Denning, Common Orchard Project Director Chris Smyth

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If we had an abundance of entry level units, there would be a lot of different opportunities,” says Charles Marohn. “A person who is in their first job, a person who’s just getting started with their family, a couple that has just gotten married, people should be able to move up when they’re ready.” In his book Escaping the Housing Trap, Marohn says because we can’t afford for housing prices to fall, one strategy is to look around your neighborhood and instigate a building boom of 600 sq. ft. houses. Among other things, in an interview with Brick by Brick, he talks about what a difference incremental developers can make.

Interview guest: Engineer, Author and Strong Towns CEO Charles Marohn

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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 conditional in Dayton. Can these structures ramp up here to help fill the housing gap?

Interview guests: ADU expert Kol Peterson, Miami University Assistant Architecture Professor Jeff Kruth, KeyBank Vice President Kenya Taylor, UC Berkeley researcher Mohammed Alameldin

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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 Cincinnati. 

Interview guests: Author of The High Cost of Free Parking Donald Shoup, President of the Parking Reform Network Tony Jordan, Cincinnati Councilmember Jeff Cramerding and City Officials from Buffalo, Minneapolis and Tulsa.

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We like to keep things as up to date as they can be here on Brick by Brick: Solutions for a Thriving Community. This is a short update from host Ann Thompson regarding the next episode release date.

Please offer feedback on the series through this short survey. 

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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 starting a pilot program to either help keep people in their homes or at least avoid an eviction on their record.  Does Right to Counsel work and is it worth it? Some landlords are open to the idea.

Interview guests: National eviction researcher Tim Thomas, officials from Cleveland and Philadelphia: cities seeing success from Right to Counsel

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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 to beat NIMBYism and establish land trusts. They also say for every example of a strategy, there is a group or a local community that is implementing that change. According to the Rothsteins “It’s all very achievable.”

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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 Brick Journalist Hernz Laguerre Jr. also investigates other cities which have tried similar zoning proposals to see what we can learn.

Interview guest: Cincinnati Councilmember Reggie Harris

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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 downtown business district in thirty years. 

Interview guest: Doug Ressler, Manager Business Intelligence, Yardi Matrix

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