Urban Hike

U.S. Environmental Activism

April 19, 2025 at 10:00am

The Trailhead & Stats

Ziegler Park

The trail starts in Ziegler Park. Your guide, Derek, will meet you there.
1322 Sycamore Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
We recommend parking in the parking garage across the street from the meeting location on Sycamore Street. There is also alot of metered street parking areas in the neighborhood. Avoid parking on Permit Only blocks.

Departure is at 10:00 am

~ 3.75 miles

~ 2 hours

We highly encourage guests to arrive early. We will not wait longer than 10 minutes past our departure time.

Difficulty

The level of difficulty is rated as MEDIUM. We will walk at a moderate pace, with many elevation changes and steps. Over the 2 hours, we will climb approximately 30 flights of steps.

Terrain & Landscape

We will walk on city steps, sidewalks, brick alleys, and pedestrian pathways.

Your guide navigates the trail before each event to ensure your safety. However, due to the nature of the spaces we explore, there may be debris on our path, such as overgrown patches of weeds, litter, cracked or uneven pavement, and broken glass.

What to Bring

Bring water and sunscreen, and wear comfortable closed-toe shoes and appropriate clothing for the weather.

The Experience

We begin at the border of Over-the-Rhine and Pendleton, neighborhoods shaped by European immigrants, The Great Migration, and urban Appalachians, who infused the area with vibrant shops, third-places, and tightly packed homes. The historic Italianate buildings, with ornate cornices and decorative ironwork, reflect German influence, creating an old-world charm. We’ll walk through narrow city streetscapes and unique public spaces that fostered communal gathering amidst the urban bustle. However, as industrialization grew, so did pollution, population, and disease, leading middle and upper-class families to move away in search of cleaner, quieter areas. This shift marked the beginning of urban planning patterns where growth often prioritized economic progress over residents' needs, causing deterioration and suburban flight.

Next, we head toward The Bottoms, a key area once connected by the Miami and Erie Canal, which helped Cincinnati thrive. As industries declined and the environment suffered, the canal was filled in, and highways replaced waterways and railroads. The construction of highways through neighborhoods like The Bottoms displaced families and contributed to urban sprawl and environmental degradation. Today, there's an opportunity to revitalize these underutilized spaces into vibrant, sustainable communities, blending green spaces, density, affordable housing, and modern infrastructure to create a future that is inclusive and equitable.

As we walk, we'll notice remnants of the past—the industrial corridor is gone, but the iconic city steps leading up to Mount Adams remain. The Mount Adams Incline, which once carried passengers up to this scenic hilltop neighborhood, closed long ago, but the spirit of that historic connection remains in the steps beneath you. The city stairways, scattered across the hills, were once vital lifelines for residents. Today, while some have faded into the past, many city steps still stand, quietly inviting you to connect with the city’s historic fabric.

We’ll continue through Eden Park. As one of the city's first public parks, it offered a natural refuge, helping to combat pollution and urban heat by maintaining green areas that absorbed carbon and provided shade. Eden Park remains a vital environmental asset, offering both ecological benefits and recreational space for the community.

Crossing I-71, we return to the gentrifying Pendleton neighborhood, where efforts to incorporate safe community spaces, historic preservation, and sustainable architecture reflect a shift toward environmentally friendly urban design. However, these revitalization efforts come with the challenge of displacement, as rising rents push out long-standing residents. The tension between revitalization and equity highlights the ongoing struggle to balance progress with preserving the history and community of these neighborhoods.

This walk traces the layers of urban planning, industrial history, and gentrification that have shaped Cincinnati’s land use and social fabric. As the city reinvents itself, it faces the challenge of ensuring that progress doesn't come at the expense of the people and places that have defined its past.

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