UC/Price Hill Environmental Project Brings Home National Award Date: March 20, 2000 By: Mary Bridget Reilly Phone: (513) 556-1824 Archive: General News Planning efforts by University of Cincinnati students to polish the environmental appeal of a Price Hill neighborhood is reaping praise from the neighborhood residents and activists and from the nation's professional planners. "We get constant requests from the neighborhood for the students' plan," said Price Hill activist Eileen Schenk, co-director of IMAGO, a non profit environmental education organization currently working to transform the Seminary Square neighborhood into an eco-village. Price Hill residents aren't alone in their appreciation for the ideas by 20 UC graduate planning students to make this urban neighborhood an ecological cornerstone for the city. The student work has also been named a winner in the American Institute of Certified Planners' national competition for students. It was chosen by a panel of practicing planners as the winner in the category of "Best Use of Planning for Contemporary Issues" given by the AICP, the professional institute within the American Planning Association, which focuses on advancing planning education, leadership, and research. The UC students, along with Brenda Scheer, associate professor of planning, and Carla Chifos, visiting assistant professor of planning, are invited to an awards ceremony set for April 17 at New York City's Hilton Hotel, during the annual meeting of the APA. In addition, their work will be published in the April issue of Planning, the APA's national magazine. Students agree that the recognition for their work, completed last spring is great, but even better is the fact that their efforts are taking root and growing in Price Hill. "It's good to see because we deliberately made our plans 'implement-able,' achieveable," said Josh Whitehead who will travel to the New York awards ceremony with Scheer and seven fellow students. "Many planners work hard only to see their ideas put up on a shelf. We didn't want that to happen. So, we deliberately made them very practical, low-cost. We didn't want to get ahead of ourselves or the community by proposing grandiose schemes. Price Hill is in a transition period and needs more real-world solutions," he added. "Every day actions impact the planet," agreed Scheer who, with Chifos, provided guidance to the students. "We're looking to make a more liveable community that also rests more lightly on the earth, moving in concert with nature." The student ideas for Price Hills' Seminary Square neighborhood -- 50 blocks bordered by Grand Ave., W. 8th St., McPherson Ave. and Glenway Ave. -- included a Price Hill Pride Week, an eco-fair, eco-education for children, the use of abandoned homes as working classrooms for eco-home improvements, and park improvements. For instance, they included designs to link all the neighborhoods' parks with a biking/walking trail, and Schenk is currently seeking a Department of Transportation grant to make that trail to reality. Other low-cost, low-maintenance ideas included the revival of Whittier Park located at Osage and Woodlawn; the creation of a community garden at Grand Ave. and W. 8th St.; and the use of trees to screen a huge transformer located in a local park. "One idea that the students had which will soon happen is hiding the transformer in Tot Lot [at Warsaw and Woodlawn avenues] behind some trees," explained Schenk, who added that other ideas generated by the UC students will also soon take shape, including a housing center that will open later this year. "We've taken an abandoned bowling alley and transformed it into a housing center where residents can get information on buying a house, take home repair classes, and find out about rental property. It's a 'green' building, using energy-efficient, recycled materials as well as alternative heating, cooling and lighting," said Schenk. Through Imago, Schenk has also acquired abandoned homes around Whittier park for a future "rehab-o-rama." originally proposed by students so that local residents could gain home-repair skills. Students also proposed a Pride Week with competitions for the cleanest street and the street with the most trees and greenery (perhaps made possible with the donations from local nurseries and greenhouses), all ending in an eco-fair in Tank Park that would draw environmentally conscious businesses from around the city. "We will crown all of our achievements with just such a fair and celebration in the park," vowed Schenk. The UC student planning project was sponsored by IMAGO. It is part of a five-year effort by IMAGO in Price Hill that has also included the planing of up to 4,000 trees, park preservation, the establishment of a bird sanctuary and two hiking trails. Funds for the projects, including the UC planning work, have come from the Community Investment Partners, a consortium of local foundations.