Event Details

Presenter:  Kevin Ward, Professor of Human Geography, The University of Manchester, UK

"Old downtowns becoming new boomtowns”? The case of Cincinnati, Ohio
How are U.S. cities financing the futures of their downtowns? This paper uses the case of Cincinnati, OH to answer this question. Based on qualitative research methods, is uses the city’s use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to highlight the risky and speculative nature of financing underpinning the redevelopment strategies of many U.S. cities.  As Cincinnati, like other U.S. cities, continues to wrestle with the fiscal consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic, so the future downtown economic growth looks ever more uncertain.

Kevin Ward is Professor of Human Geography and Director of the Manchester Urban Institute (www.mui.manchester.ac.uk). He is a urban geographer with interests in the financing and governance of cities. His current work explores urban policies to see where they come from, how they travel, where they end up and what these journeys mean for the cities the policies pass through.

Light snacks will be available.