Design, planning and development leaders will come together Thursday, Jan. 29, for a public panel discussion examining how a different approach to increasing housing options could help address Cincinnati's housing needs.
The approach, called gentle-density infill housing, increases residential density in existing neighborhoods by adding "missing middle" housing - such as duplexes, triplexes and townhomes - that matches the scale of surrounding homes. This offers a middle ground between single-family zoning and high-rise developments.
The discussion, held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at GBBN Architects, Cincinnati, builds on the ideas explored in "Block by Block," a UC DAAP exhibition that examined the intersection of zoning reform and imaginative housing design. The panel marks the closing event of the exhibition, which has been on view at GBBN since December.
Panelists will explore how Cincinnati's neighborhoods once relied on gentle-density housing (such as duplexes, triplexes and small multi-unit buildings) and how recent policy changes could allow those housing types to return.
In 2024, the city of Cincinnati passed Connected Communities, a zoning reform that legalized these housing forms along transportation corridors and business districts. In 2025, Cincinnati also received a PRO Housing grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to develop affordable "proof of concept" housing prototypes.
Organized by De Peter Yi, assistant professor at UC's School of Architecture and Interior Design, the "Block by Block" effort highlights how design innovation and zoning reform can work together to support more affordable, context-sensitive housing. Visitors will be able to view the exhibition before and after the panel discussion. The event is free and open to the public.
The "Block by Block" exhibition and related programming are supported by the SOM Foundation Research Prize and UC DAAP's Simpson Collective for Urban Futures.
Featured image at top: iStock/zrfphoto
