Burnet Woods and Recent Development Proposals

The urban core of many American cities is being revitalized, thanks to the trend of many millenials to eschew suburbs, and live as efficiently as possible. This certainly sounds attractive to me! As I approach empty nesting, I find myself drawn away from suburbia toward urban living. Mostly, I crave the spiritual and cultural diversity that can be enjoyed in a larger population center like Cincinnati. I don't like the idea of continuing to be separated from this diversity by fifteen miles of traffic - jam prone interstate highway. My wife and I chose a certain Northern Kentucky suburb primarily for its high quality public schools when we moved here fifteen years ago with three children. We also wanted affordable living space. The youngest of the three is within a year of high school graduation, and now the size of our living space is not nearly as important. We are planning on selling our suburban home, and moving much closer to the spiritual and cultural energy center that draws us. Among the top candidates for us are the Clifton and Northside neighborhoods of Cincinnati, OH.

Although I crave the culture of a true urban center, I don't think that I would feel whole without ready access to green spaces with mature trees! It sounds like a complete conundrum: a choice between concrete or earth under one's feet and a canopy of trees over one's head. This isn't always the case. Cities that had most of their growth in the American postwar era often have only small parks that never really get you out of sight of a street. For American cities that grew significantly in the 19th century, it was different, with large wooded areas preserved and protected from commercial development. The first example I can think of for a large green space in the middle of a city is Central Park on the island of Manhattan, New York City. Another great green space is Burnet Woods, in Cincinnati's Clifton neighborhood.



In 1872, Robert W. Burnet and William S. Groesbeck leased 170 acres of their land to the city of Cincinnati and this land became known as "Burnet Woods". The University of Cincinnati relocated to the southern portion of this original land area, and after another UC expansion in 1950, Burnet Woods Park was left with its present 90 acres, enclosed by Clifton Avenue, Ludlow Avenue, Bishop Avenue, and Martin Luther King Drive.¹

Burnet Woods is a unique urban greenspace that is very important to a large number of migrating birds.It has been an urban migrant trap for a large number of bird species for many years. This has been documented in more than ten years of formal bird inventories during spring migration. As a result, the National Audubon Society has designated the park a special category Important Bird Area.²



On May 21st, in a public meeting attended by about 160 residents, the Cincinnati Park Board unanimously approved a motion to call on its staff and stakeholders to come up with a vision and plan for the park to, as board member Jim Goetz put it, "activate it, preserve it and bring in people." More than thirty speakers offered split opinions as to whether development of the park to offer "attractions" is in order, or preserve this precious urban habitat with no further development.³

There are two proposals on the table with the Cincinnati Park Board, both from non-profit organizations. One proposal is for the Camping and Education Foundation to build a 2500 square foot "Living Building".⁴ I could find no further details on this proposal, but it is ironic to me that an organization that ostensibly promotes camping with educational programs wants to cut down trees, raise a building and put in a parking lot next to this in the place of actual natural greenspace.

The second proposal involves clearing trees to a far greater degree. The Clifton Cultural Arts Center is looking for a new location after their lease was terminated in March, 2017 by the Cincinnati School Board. The CCAC's proposal is for a 25,000 to 35,000 foot building, and presumably, a proportionally sized parking lot.⁴

I believe that I speak for many in the area when offering the opinion that there is much more at stake here than making this park popular with humans and encouraging commerce. First of all, we are ALL stewards of the trees, and the bird populations that seek refuge in them. But if we cut down most of our area trees, there is a direct health impact to humans, as well. Cincinnati certainly has enough motor vehicle traffic that on very hot, humid summer days, we end up with air quality problems due to CO₂ emissions from motor vehicles combining with the atmospheric conditions. Trees breathe in that CO₂ which is harmful to us, and convert it into oxygen which is life - giving to us. I can't imagine why we would seriously consider compromising this rare treasure of 90 acres of forestland in the middle of our city.

If you agree with me, please make your voice heard by signing the petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/preserve-burnet-woods?source=facebook& 

[All photos in this blog entry were taken in Burnet Woods by Brian Dotson on May 27th, 2018. All rights are reserved.]

1 https://sites.google.com/site/ucwalks/points-of-interest/burnett-woods
2 https://www.audubon.org/important-bird-areas/burnet-woods
3 http://wvxu.org/post/cincinnati-park-board-discusses-future-burnet-woods#stream/0
4 http://wvxu.org/post/living-building-and-arts-center-burnet-woods#stream/0