Brick by Brick
This regional community affairs program is about exploring solutions to complex problems in Southwest Ohio. This podcast is a companion piece to our larger project. Visit https://www.cetconnect.org/BrickbyBrick/ to learn more.
Episodes
58 episodes
Season Two Solutions
Brick by Brick discovered dozens of solutions in Season 2, that are working to solve a variety of problems. After many iterations, Cincinnati engineers created the perfect speed hump. The city has data showing traffic calming devices a...
Natural Solution: Nurturing Tree Canopies
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau finds nearly one in four Americans are vulnerable to extreme heat. Many of them are in urban areas where there isn’t enough shade. Disturbingly, we’re losing trees to commercial development, weather events and i...
Podcast: Solutions Sidebar – Bringing Energy Insecurity to Light with researcher Diana Hernández
New government figures find that even before the Iran war, one in three households faced some form of energy insecurity. Not only did people have trouble paying their heating and cooling bills, but a separate study found the problem affected th...
Neighborhood Summit Envisions the Future
A recent survey finds only half of Hamilton County residents consider themselves thriving. And for a variety of reasons, an increasing number is suffering. Community leaders want to turn this around, and during a recent Cincinnati summit ...
The Arts + Community = Impact
For the individual, research shows that the arts can boost memory, decrease depression and foster creativity. For a community, it can improve the quality of life and benefit the economy. Despite finances drying up - both nationally and locally ...
Is the Future Bright for Solar Farms?
The Ohio Supreme Court is set to decide the fate of a handful of solar farm projects. This, as the state already leads the nation in the number of projects rejected while facing a need for affordable electricity. Cincinnati is seeing success wi...
County Corp Focused on Neighborhood Needs
Dayton and Montgomery County, like so many other places in the U.S., continue to face a shortage of low-income housing. For nearly 50 years the private nonprofit development corporation County Corp, has been creating generational wealth by addi...
Getting Past Age One
The infant mortality rate, or the death of an infant before its first birthday, continues to remain high among Black families. Efforts in Cincinnati and beyond have made some progress to lower it, including recognizing the importance of doulas ...
Solutions Sidebar – A Housing Hand-Up for the Formerly Incarcerated
For people with criminal records, research shows stable housing reduces their likelihood of committing another crime. However, hundreds of state and federal laws create barriers for people who want to obtain affordable stable housing. Ohio and ...
Local Leaders Look For Big Ideas to Solve Homelessness
As the number of unsheltered people ticks up, state and local agencies are scrambling to find enough beds. They’re also having to navigate changing federal policies which threaten funding. Creativity is key and, in some places, it helps to solv...
Toxins In Your Home
Modern day construction hasn’t solved the problem of toxic housing. On top of old school irritants like mold, lead and asbestos, some new homes and apartments could contain enough formaldehyde to cause significant lung damage over time. Efforts...
What To Do About Rising Property Taxes?
Property taxes date back to at least the 1600s, making up an average 70 percent of local government revenue. They pay for schools, police, fire, infrastructure and more. But as property values increase so do property taxes, pricing some people ...
Housing Affordability, Neighborhood Vitality and Community Engagement
In a live recorded Brick by Brick event with our partners at the Dayton Metro Library and Dayton Daily News, key decision makers and community activists came together. They talked state of the neighborhoods, a new vision for the city, the role ...
Solutions Sidebar: Finding Balance with Housing & Nature featuring M. Nils Peterson
COVID reminded scientific researcher and author M. Nils Peterson that multigenerational living does work and people used to do it more often. He sees it as a way to control urban sprawl and preserve the nature we so desperately need. One way is...
Solutions Sidebar: Housing as a Human Right with Maria Foscarinis
Subsidized permanent housing is no longer a given for the chronically homeless. Instead, the government is directing more than $3 billion in funds to pay for transitional housing, addiction treatment and state outreach. Not everybody is on boar...
Food Insecurity Solutions Part 2: Foodbanks, Food Rescue, and Meals on Wheels
Some foodbanks broke records during the government shutdown for the amount of food they handed out. SNAP benefits were suspended temporarily, and its requirements have changed. Although the need has eased slightly, food insecurity remains...
Feeling the Pain of Medical Deserts
Millions of people live in a medical desert, meaning they have inadequate access to healthcare, both in urban and rural settings. There are a variety of reasons why, including distance to a hospital, lack of broadband internet, lack of tr...
Can Bipartisanship Lead To More Housing On The State Level?
At the current rate of construction, estimates predict it will take seven years to close the housing gap. The U.S. is still short about 4 million units. The problem is hitting home. After more than a decade of inflated home prices, states, incl...
Solutions Sidebar - Citizen Developers with Joe Nickol
Residents don’t want to have development done to them and instead want to be part of it. One example involves the conversion of an old chemical plant in West Louisville, Kentucky into affordable housing. Another is in Carmel, Indiana where neig...
Safer Streets by Design
The World Health Organization has set a goal of decreasing pedestrian deaths and injuries by 50-percent in five years. At least in the U.S., there’s not a lot of progress. According to 2023 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration s...
Shining A Light On Residential Solar
U.S. consumers spent on average $1,760 on electricity in 2023, second only to gasoline. And those residential electricity costs are expected to increase 13-18 percent by 2026. Why? Blame it on infrastructure changes needed for data centers. The...
Growing the Food Supply with Urban Gardens and Community Markets.
Nearly 50 million people in the U.S. don’t have enough food to eat and what they do have probably isn’t the most nutritious, leading to possible health problems later in life. Food banks and food rescue organizations are helping (we’ll cover th...
Bonus Episode – Dayton Developer Tim Forbess
Housing growth in Dayton has typically been divided by the river and real estate developer Tim Forbess wants to change that. One example is the historic Longfellow School which he’s transforming into a housing community with a...
Bonus Episode – Geoff Milz: Director of Development at Pennrose
Geoff Milz is the Director of Development for Pennrose in Cincinnati, Ohio. His organization specializes in developing and managing affordable, conventional, and mixed income residential properties. He stresse the importance of creating more in...
Bonus Episode – Cincinnati Developer Kai Lewars
Developer Kai Lewars specializes in the “missing middle” housing some say Cincinnati so badly needs. The city made it easier to develop duplexes, triplexes, rowhouses, and more under 2024 zoning changes. Lewars finds vacant lots and works with ...