Flood-resilient redevelopment: Cincinnati's central riverfront

Since the founding of Cincinnati on the banks of the Ohio River in 1788, the city's flood-prone central riverside area has been exploited in multiple waves of development, none of which were viewed a success − until now. Owing to floods, most minor but some severe, the riverside has not been very attractive or very productive in terms of employment, culture or recreation. However, this situation has now changed. This paper suggests that the current success in regenerating the riverside area is due to a fresh approach taken in the area's urban design master plan, drafted in 1997, which was based on flood resilience instead of the conventional wisdom based on flood resistance. The master plan enabled a mixed-use, environmentally friendly development on the riverside with minimal effect on the storage capacity of the river floodplain. Additionally, it has left the area well connected to the central business district, the Ohio River and the region.