Focus on the Future: Preserving Unique Neighborhoods

By Yvette Renee Simpson

Challenges We Face

Cincinnati is a city of 52 individual neighborhoods with unique needs. Although many issues affect all Cincinnatians, many more are best addressed on the community level. The challenge is for an at-large City Council to identify and resolve these individual concerns.

City Council must work alongside citizens and communities to identify solutions for each of these communities. Keeping our neighborhoods safe, clean and engaged takes participation from a broad cross-section of citizens.

Finding Solutions

As a member of City Council, Yvette will work to maximize the potential of each of Cincinnati's 52 unique neighborhoods by promoting the following initiatives:

• Promoting Partnerships: To maximize the potential of each of Cincinnati's neighborhoods, Yvette will work to establish partnerships among businesses and organizations, including local schools and community councils, within individual communities. These partnerships will identify the needs and priorities of the neighborhood, and have access to City Council to report these concerns.

• Increasing Public Safety: Yvette will promote public safety by increasing community involvement. Yvette will work to expand successful community policing initiatives such as the Citizens on Patrol and Good Guy Loitering programs. Indigent support programs also affect community safety, so Yvette will support projects such as the "Homeless to Homes" initiative and battered women shelters where needed.

• More Affordable Public Transportation: Public transportation is the primary means of travel for many Cincinnatians. Yvette will work to make public transportation more affordable to Cincinnati citizens through voucher and token programs for the elderly and low-income individuals. Yvette will also promote increased use of public transportation by providing reduced fares to students.