Yellow Spring, OH- A liberal oasis in the middle of red Southwest Ohio

I roughly used the following boundaries in my evaluation to capture the pre-WWII portion of Yellow Springs: Allen St. to the south, High to the west, Yellow spring-Fairfield road to the North, and the Little Miami Scenic Trail to the east.

In 1825, Yellow Spring’s Village was founded by approximately 100 families hoping to establish the utopian community at New Harmony, Indiana. The community disbanded and it took the completion of the Little Miami Railroad in 1846 to increase development to the town. The village was named after a nearby natural springs with waters high in iron content. Antioch College was founded in 1850 with the distinguished scholar Horace Mann as its first president. The town always had a strong progressive bend, even being targeted by the government in the 1950s for its leftist communist leanings and not surprisingly was a major center for the Civil Rights and Anti-War movement of the 60s&70s. This cultural bent has created a liberal oasis set in the middle of a very conservative rural area in SW Ohio. Yet the village’s population has remained small hovering around 4,000 residents since WWII.

The town’s main attraction is its vibrant color downtown setting at the crossroads of Dayton and Xenia Avenue. Great concentrations of art galleries, local craft stores, boutiques, great restaurants, bars, and cafes attract tourists from the entire Southwestern Ohio region. Yellow spring’s major downsides from an urban perspective are its very low density, lack of any public transit, and few rental properties. But I guess in Yellow Springs this dynamic seems to work.

Click here to view my Yellow Springs album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* The Little Miami Scenic Trail is an excellent north to south bike path traveling throughout town.
* Solid racial and economic diversity.
* Over 50% are family households but a high median age likely due to a lot of retirees living here.
* Good mix of for sale housing options ranging from 50K all the way to 400K depending on size and condition.
* Excellent tree canopy.
* Great natural parks with the Little Miami Scenic Trail, and expansive Glen Helen Nature Preserve just east of Dwtn. Gaunt Park hosts a public pool and several ballfields.
* Dwtn is really a regional destination hosting a great array of local creative shops, boutiques, art galleries, a toy store, bookstores,. this helps creative a colorful, liberal vibe and lots of people in the summer months. More typical neighborhood amenities located in Yellow Spring include a wine cellar a pharmacy, hardware store, public library, post office, a local grocery store, and a couple banks.
* Other cultural amenities include a great array of restaurants, bars, & cafes, a couple breweries, some live music venues, a local movie theater, the Antioch Foundry Theater, and the trailside nature center.
* The Public elementary school is located close to Dwtn. The middle and high school are located on the western edge but still walkable to most students.
* ADA curbs and sidewalks are good Dwtn but hit or miss in the residential areas.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Very low density .
* Virtually no public transit here. Making car travel the only commuting option to Dwtn Dayton. Not a terrible option as its only about a 30 minute drive.
* Rental product is very limited. Surprising for a college town, but the college is tiny (about 150 students).

Grafton Hill- Home to Dayton’s Art Institute and many gorgeous Historic Homes

Grafton Hill was mostly developed in 1875 when John Stoddard, a wealthy and prominent farm implement manufacturer, opened the exclusive Belmonte Park residential area. Other upper middle class homes followed suit and the construction of the Dayton Art Institute (1919) and the Dayton Masonic Temple added to the affluent aura of the community.

Today the grand homes remain in tact and Grafton Hill is still a relatively sought after neighborhood for those who appreciate its historic charm and convenient access to Downtown. But its commercial corridor along Salem Ave is decimated greatly diminishing the neighborhood’s walkability. There is a fair amount of blight on the fringes as some pretty rough areas surround Grafton Hill. Rebuilding the neighborhood’s urban commercial corridor would be my first priority here.

Click here to view my Grafton Hill album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good sidewalk and ADA infrastructure throughout the neighborhood.
* Quality public transit throughout the neighborhood and Downtown is very convenient… literally just across the river. Its a 15-20 minute walk to the heart of Dwtn from Grafton Hill.
* Good street grid and connectivity.
* Decent bike infrastructure with a dedicated bike lane running along the Great Miami River and one bike share station. Would like to see more bike lanes crossing thru the neighborhood.
* Wonderful array of historic single family homes.
* Park amenities include the Miami river trail, a tennis court and McKinney Park a nice medium size park.
* Great tree canopy.
* A couple elementary school options in the neighborhood and several high schools options in adjacent districts including Dwtn.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Okay diversity. Neighborhood is 75% Black. While 40% of residents are living in poverty still decent economic diversity with a sizable middle class.
* Only 30% of households are family but good adult diversity.
* Decent for sale housing stock. Maintained SF homes sell in the 100KS & 200Ks. Fixer uppers sell below 100K. So cheap condo product as well.
* Rental product is generally limited and cheap.
* Cultural amenities are pretty limited but Grafton Hill does host the Dayton Art Museum and the Dayton Masonic Center and is walkable to the many cultural amenities Dwtn.
* Retail amenities are limited to a dollar general, a couple salons and the post office. The neighborhood’s main commercial district, Salem Ave, is run down and mostly auto centric now.
* Generally pretty safe district, but on the edge with some other pretty high crime areas in Dayton and blight is prevalent along Salem Ave.

Dayton’s Inner East- A neighborhood with great urban fabric and potential

The Inner East is comprised of two small city designated historic districts.. St. Ann’s Hill and Huffman. Both have wonderfully preserved architecture from the late 1800s, some of the best architecture in Dayton. The rest of Inner East is pretty blighted and underinvested especially 5th Ave, the eastern half of 3rd Ave, and the Southern quadrant of the district.

St. Ann’s is adjacent to the Oregon District and was platted in 1802 by German immigrants. Homes were erected in the neighborhood starting after the Civil War. William Huffman who was a local banker, real estate developer, and a producer of Huffman bicycles spurred development by building railway on Third Street northeast of St. Ann’s Hill creating the Huffman district. The neighborhood was built up between 1870 and 1890. St. Ann’s and Huffman were designated historic districts in 1974 and 1982, respectively.

Restoration of the historic homes has been occurring since then but redevelopment hasn’t spilled over into adjacent parts of the Inner East. A couple food & beverage businesses and some general retail is just popping up on 3rd Ave in St. Ann’s. Sadly, Dayton’s economy and limited urban culture prevents this urban area with great bones from getting the investment and retail amenities it needs to become a thriving urban area. Hopefully city leaders will realize the great potential of this neighborhood and put appropriate investment into it.

Click here to view my St. Ann’s album on Flickr

URBAN STRENTHS:

* Good sidewalk and ADA infrastructure throughout the neighborhood.
* While public transit access is only okay, the Inner East is still very convenient to Dwtn. 10 minute drive and 15 minute bike and bus ride.
* Excellent street grid and connectivity.
* Decent bike infrastructure including a dedicated east to west bike lane and a couple bike share stations.
* Lots of family households (around 60%) and good age diversity.
* Good diverse of price points with for sale housing. Housing in the Southeastern quadrant of Inner East is under 50K. Fair amount of homes selling between 50K-100. Most homes in the historic districts sell in the 100Ks and 200Ks. Higher prices in St. Ann’s than Huffman.
* Good tree canopy overall.
* Well ranked Strivers high school for the arts is located within Inner East several other decent schools located within walking distance in adjacent districts.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Lots of blight along 3rd Ave and the eastern half of 5th along with the Southeastern quarter of the Inner East. Quite the difference between this and the Historic District of St. Ann and Huffman.
* Transit access is okay. Underwhelming for being 2 miles from dwtn.
* While racial diversity it okay good economic diversity mixing middle and upper middle class households with those below the poverty line.
* Rental housing is a bit limited and generally inexpensive.
* Bomberger Park is the neighborhood’s only park amenity. Nice park but not located on the district’s western edge.
* Pretty low density for an urban district so close to Dwtn.
* Some cultural amenities but not a ton… a handful of restaurants, a couple nice cafes, a couple dive bars, and a couple art galleries. Cultural amenities of the Oregon District and Webster Station only a 10-20 minute walk.
* Retail amenities are also pretty limited and include a couple Hispanic grocerias, a bakery, several thrift stores, and an antique shop.

Downtown Dayton, OH

Downtown Dayton is probably one of the better mid-sized American Downtowns thanks to its extensive remaining historic fabric, good transit network, great bike infrastructure, and quality parks. Downtown also holds a large college population attending school at Sinclair Community College (18,000 students) and is a major employment hub for the Dayton Region, even with the departures of several major fortunate 500 companies to the south.

I find that its easiest to divide Downtown Dayton into two halves. West and East of Ludlow Street. West of Ludlow is where the majority of Downtown’s urban renewal efforts occurred. It includes Sinclair Community College, the Montgomery jail and court complexes, some bland modern office towers, and a lot of surface parking lots. Not a lot of life and vitality on this side of Downtown. East of Ludlow holds the bulk of Dayton’s historic fabric and architecture along with its better modern high raises, theaters, bus hub, public library, Riverscape Park, and the Courthouse Square. It is the more interesting and vibrant half of Downtown, seeing the bulk of new housing and development. Main Street forms the main spine of Downtown Dayton where the convention center, historic arcade, Courthouse Square, several theaters, and Dwtn’s best skyscrapers are all locate.

My hope for Downtown Dayton is continued civic focus and investment as this could be a very special urban environment. Blight and dead space is what is holding Downtown back the most. It will be interesting to see if the opening of the renovated Dayton Arcade is the spark needed to set this all in motion.

Click here to view my Downtown Dayton album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Dwtn has a good public transit itself. But transit service is a bit disappointing across the City of Dayton. Decent service to many of the Dayton suburbs depending on their age.
* Great bike infrastructure including a bike share system dwtn and to surrounding inner city neighborhoods and wonderful bike lane coverage within Dwtn and connecting to Dwtn throughout the City and region.
* Generally good racial and economic diversity dwtn both represented in its residential and daytime population.
* For sale product is a bit limited and concentrated along the eastern edge of Dwtn near Webster Station. Good diversity of price points. 1-bedrooms range from 100K-350K. More 2-bedrooms available ranging from 125K-400K. 3-bedroom condos go between 400K-650K.
* Great of array of quality historic architecture.
* Over quality parks in Dwtn Dayton including the new Riverscape Metro Park, Courthouse Square (a decent well programmed civic plaza), and several other decent plazas spread throughout.
* Excellent ADA infrastructure throughout Dwtn.
* Good array of public & private elementary and high schools in and around Dwtn.
* Great college population dwtn with 18K students enrolled at Sinclair.
* Pretty good streetscaping especially along the more investment parts of Dwtn. Helps that the City has streetscape guides for Dwtn.
* Pretty impressive employment hub with around 50K jobs. Generally positive outlook for Downtown with recent job growth but still low rents and high office vacancy rates.
* Cultural amenities include: a modern & historic theater, two specialty movie theaters, several local museums (and the art museum across the river), a couple live music venues and nightclubs, and cultural amenities of Sinclair College.
* Other important amenities dwtn include the Dayton Convention Center, concentration of courthouses, City hall, Dwtn post office & library.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Dwtn rentals are a bit limited but modest price point. 1-bedrooms lease in the low $1,000s and 2-bedrooms anywhere in the $1,000s.
* Decent skyline but certainly nothing spectacular.
* The majority of infill is ugly 60s-80s bldgs on Sinclair College. Some decent modern skyscrapers and newer apartment in-fill.
* The western half of Dwtn where Sinclair College is located was part of a pretty extensive urban renewal campaign. This part of Dwtn is pretty lifeless, uninspiring, and filled with lots of surface parking lots.
* Tree canopy is ok. Dwtn could use more street trees.
* Dwtn residential density is pretty low. Plenty of room for an expanded Dwtn population.
* Downtown Dayton still seems to have an image problem even with its quality form and decent amenities. This should continue to get better especially with the opening of the renovated Dayton Arcade.
* Some bars, restaurants and cafes dwtn but pretty limited for a Downtown. Only a handful of art galleries. The only major sports arena is the minor league ballpark in adjacent Webster Square district.
* While dwtn hosts a small discount grocery store and CVS pharmacy retail is pretty limited to a handful of boutiques, a couple bookstores, and neighborhood retail.

Dayton Ohio’s Oregon District- the city’s premier urban neighborhood

The Oregon District lies to the east of Downtown and is Dayton’s most complete neighborhood. It is know for two things: excellent architecture protected through a local historic district and a lively commercial district along 5th Ave that can be rowdy at times. The Oregon Historic District includes one of the earliest surviving combinations of commercial and residential architecture in Dayton ranging from 1820 to 1915. Many streets are also the original red brick.

Yet there are still many areas the neighborhood needs to improve upon before it becomes a premiere district in the same category of other great Ohio urban neighborhoods like Ohio City, the Short North, and Over-the-Rhine. It needs a better variety of retail amenities especially a grocery store, more market rate rental housing, more population in general, and in-fill development along its north and eastern edges where there is still a fair amount of blighted or auto centric uses.

Click here to view my Oregon District album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Pretty good bike infrastructure including several bike stations and a dedicated bike lane.
* Great access to dwtn being just southeast of it.
* Good racial diversity and pretty good economic diversity although high poverty rates around 40% live alongside upper middle class households.
* Also good generational diversity with 45% family households and a nice mix of young adults, and boomers.
* Good mix of for sale housing product with 2 & 3-bedrooms selling btwn 150K-350K. 4 bedrooms generally selling in the 300Ks.
* Several public housing developments located in the Oregon District provided affordable housing in a good neighborhood.
* Tree canopy is great in the residential portion of Oregon but pretty terrible in the north and eastern edges with most industrial uses.
* Newcome Park is a nice historic park located in the heart of the Oregon District. Bomberger Park is located on the eastern edge of the district. Not much else park amenity wise.
* Culturally the Oregon District has a nice array of restaurants, bars, cafes, several night clubs, a comedy club, walkable access to the Neon Indie Theater & Black Box Improv Theater in nearby districts. Many of Downtown’s cultural amenities are also walkable to the Oregon District.
* Retail wise lots of boutiques and creative stores, a bookstore, post office, and walkable access to Dwtn’s retail amenities like the public library, drug store and banks.
* Generally a pretty safe area but still blighted areas in the north and eastern edges.
* No schools within the Oregon District but two excellent high schools within walking distance. Also several elementary schools in Downtown Dayton.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Urban form not great in the eastern and north edges of the Oregon District. Hit or miss along Wayne Ave. Fair amount of industrial blight along the district’s northern edge.
* Density is only so .
* Rental product is a bit limited but nice mix of market and affordable. Market 1-bedrooms generally rent near or below $1,000 and 2 bedrooms in the low $1,000s.
* No walkable supermarket,

Kent, OH- hosts a quality historic downtown as state university near Akron

Difficult to decipher exactly what to include in this Kent evaluation as the pre-WWII fabric extents pretty far and inconsistently outside of the downtown center. I included all of Kent University and used a mixture of block groups and historic fabric to set the boundaries of this evaluation.

Kent was originally founded as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve and settled in 1805. It attracted settles due to its location along the Cuyahoga River which spurred water-power mills and eventually the Ohio canal. By the time Kent State was founded in 1910 the City already had a population of 4,500. Kent State was built on the eastern edge of the City and doesn’t fully integrate with the historic town. While there are several quality historic buildings, most of Kent State is unattractive 1950s-1970s buildings. Major redevelopment initiatives came to Downtown Kent in 2008 with a $110 Million dollar mixed-use development across several blocks.

Like most college towns, Kent has a good array of main street retail and cultural amenities. Park and recreational space are extensive along the Cuyahoga River adjacent to Downtown. Areas that Kent could improve from an urban perspective include a downtown supermarket and target, more consistent ADA infrastructure, and a better sense of place at Kent State University. There is also a fair amount of blight in the historic residential portions of the City.

Click here to view the Kent album on my Flickr Page

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Convenient access to lots of University jobs at Kent.
* Pretty good local transit access in the downtown core and university areas of Kent.
* Good bike access on Kent State’s campus and along the Cuyahoga River. No dedicated bike shares.
* Pretty good economic diversity.
* Crime rate is very low but still some blight in the residentials portion of Kent.
* Great tree canopy throughout most of Kent.
* Park and recreation highlights include the extensive and diversity park space surrounding the Cuyahoga River and quads at Kent State along with an attractive plaza space at Acorn Alley.
* Quality cultural amenities include many restaurants, bars & cafes, several live music venues & art gallery spaces, a couple local breweries, some local museums (Kent State University Museum and Kent Historic Society) and the performing arts hosted at Kent State University.
* Nice retail amenities as well including many boutiques and local businesses, local bookstores, a couple drug stores, several banks, along with a post office and library.
* Several good elementary schools within the historic core. The public middle and high school is just north of the historic core.
* Kent did a nice job rebuilding its downtown with quality urban in-fill.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Decent driving access to Dwtn Akron (25 minutes) and Dwtn Cleveland (45) but limited public transit connections.
* Limited racial and generational diversity.
* Local grocery store located in a strip mall just south of the historic core of Kent.
* Sidewalk infrastructure generally good but modern ADA infrastructure inconsistent.
* Most of Kent State University is ugly 60s & 70s towers. While there is attractive green space and quads, likes of parking lots spread throughout campus diminishing its sense of place.
* Historic housing is ok. Some nice historic commercial buildings in Downtown Kent.

Hudson, OH great historic town and childhood home of abolitionist John Brown

My evaluation of Hudson is very nuanced guided by the walkable pre-WW II fabric of the town. This included Western Reserve Academy to the north, the new urbanist shopping center built around First and Main Green to the west, Ravenna St to the south, and Oviatt St. to the east.

There is a lot of great history o this town. Hudson is named after its founder, David Hudson, who settled there from Connecticut in 1799, when it was part of the Connecticut Western Reserve. Western Reserve College and Preparatory School was founded in 1826 and but now exists as only a private high school (the college moved to Cleveland and is now Case Western Reserve). John Brown grew up in Hudson in a very anti slavery town and congregation in the early 1800s creating the seeds of his more radical actions. Historically Hudson was a always a small town. In 1870 there were 868 residents and 1940 1,400. Suburbanization, however, lead to an explosion of residents and the town now has over 20K souls.

Hudson is one of the wealthiest enclaves in the Akron metro likely drawn by its quality schools, history, and historic main street. Several attractive historic residential streets also surround Main Street with homes from every decade of the 19th century. In 2004 an attractive new urbanist retail development (1st & main) was built as a nice extension of Main Street,

Click here to view my Hudson album on my Flickr page

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Great historic architecture spanning many decades before WWII in the main street, residential streets, and Western Reserve Academy. Quality urban in-fill with a nice new-urbanist district west of the historic main street.
* Pretty easy drive to Downtown Akron (only 20 minutes). 45 minute drive to Dwtn Cleveland.
* Very high family households around 85%.
* Great tree canopy and street tree coverage on the main street.
* Grand public square park amenities, a nice trail park extending SE from dwtn, and some quality green spaces at Western Reserve Academy.
* Good cultural amenities including lots of bars, restaurants & cafes, several art galleries, a performing arts theater, and several historic homes.
* Lots of walkable retail including a nice array of boutiques, clothing stores, a supermarket, bookstore, post office, and library. Several other strip malls just west of the walkable core as well.
* Very low crime rates in Hudson. Some years there are no violent crimes.
* Several well rated public schools located on the eastern edge of Hudson Dwtn. Western Reserve Academy located on the north edge was well.
* Quality sidewalk and ADA infrastructure. Up to date ADA curb ramps are common near Western Reserve, main street and the new urbanism shopping center, but limited in the historic residential areas.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Poor public transit access. Although there is some commuter buses to downtown Akron.
* Limited Bike infrastructure.
* Very high household medium income around $125K but some income diversity here. Also limited racial diversity as central Hudson is around 90% white.
* Most for-sale options are expensive ranging between 300K-1 Million. Some more modest product selling in the 200Ks. Rental housing is limited.

Cleveland’s Lakefront Neighborhood Edgewater

Because of its location along the Lake and being on the westside of Cleveland, Edgewater never experienced serious blight and abandonment issues and has always been Cleveland’s more stable neighborhood with a rare pocket of wealth along the Lake and West Blvd. The neighborhood is now taking advantage of the general rise and interest in all of the westside of Cleveland north of 1-90. And by all measures it should be as this neighborhood has many attractive elements: decent walkable commercial district, good mix of housing stock and price point, great access to Edgewater Park and solid public transportation options with a 10 minute ride to downtown.

Click here to view the full Edgewater album on my Flickr Page

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Edgewater Park is easily accessible from many points of the neighborhood
* Beautiful early 20th century mansions along the lake north of Clifton, and large 4-5 bedroom homes between Clifton and Detroit. Lots of beautiful tutor style apartments on Lake and Detroit Avenues.
* Decent commercial Districts on Detroit and Clifton. Many important amenities on W 117 but it’s mostly auto-centric.
* Redline stop at Detroit and West Blvd. and good bus access on Detroit and Clifton.
* Good mix of for sale price points. Can easily find a 3-4 bedroom for 100-200K south of Lake and 300K and above if home is near or on the lakefront. Million dollar homes on Edgewater. Lots of affordable and mid-level rentals available. Can easily find a 2-bedroom for under 1,000 K.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Most of W 117 is very auto centric
* No bike lanes other than within Edgewater park, but the City now has a dockless system in place.
* Walk to decent commercial areas often more than 1-2 mile in neighborhood.
* Some rougher/ blighted areas south of the railroad tracks.

Harrison West, a charming village like neighborhood in Columbus, OH

Harrison West is the more sleepy version of its neighborhood Victorian Village. The district has good access to downtown, a modest commercial district with several good restaurants/bars, quality parks, good historic architecture and a great infill project called Harrison Park.

Click here to view all Harrison West photos on my Flickr Page

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good density at over 10K per sq mile
*Great access to downtown, decent bike lanes and transit lines
* Decent late 19th century wood and brick Architecture. Harrison Park redevelopment in-fill project, is also high quality.
* Vermont Park is a great asset (Blvd. park lined with beautiful historic homes).
* Good access to park space (i.e. Harrison Park, Harrison West Park, and Wheeler Memorial Park

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Commercial District on 3rd still lacks many neighborhood services
Could be built up more.
* What remains of the historic stock is very nice but much of the neighborhood was rebuilt in the 90s with mediocre historic in-fill
* Redevelopment efforts in the southern end of the neighborhood

Oxford OH, home to Miami University and an attractive college town

I used the original square mile of the town as my boundaries as this encapsulates pretty well the historic boundaries of Oxford and the majority of its pre- WWII population. These boundaries also include the majority of Miami University, the reason for the town’s existence.

Miami University was chartered in 1809 and the town of Oxford laid out the following year. Thus the fortunes of town and university were inextricably linked since their founding. From an urbanist perspective historic Oxford is a pleasant mostly walkable environment including the bucolic Miami University Georgian campus, main street like Uptown, surrounded by historic but mostly college serving housing. Ringing historic Oxford on three sides is a well establish park system built along rivers and creeks.

The major urban downsides to Oxford is a lack of walkable schools (with the middle and high school located on the urban fringes), a lack of owner occupied housing in the city core, and distance from downtown Cincinnati, the hub City in urban metro to which Oxford belongs.

Click here for my full Oxford Album on Flick. Click here for my Miami University Album on Flickr.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good public transit for a small town. Miami University provides excellent shuttle system.
* Augmenting the convenience of bike on campus there are several dedicated bike lanes outside of campus.
* The rental situation is different from a typical urban neighborhood as this is a college town. Because of this there are lots of rental options, albeit geared towards students. 1-bedrooms generally go for $600-$700 & 2-bedrooms in the low $1,000s. Entire houses rent in the $2,000s.
* Not a ton of dedicated public park space within historic Oxford other than Oxford Memorial Park but plenty of green space once you include all the quads and sport fields on Miami’s campus. Also a whole system of trails and greenways ringing historic Oxford.
* Culturally Oxford is enriched by the performing arts brought by the university. Outside of campus there is a community theater and plenty of bars and restaurants.
* High Street hosts a solid array of cafes, restaurants, bars, boutiques, and neighborhood serving retail. There is also a drug store, Ace Hardware, library, and post office located off high street. Locust street, the western edge of historic oxford is an auto centric strip but provides important conveniences such as a supermarket, Moon co-op, and other retail options.
* Quality architecture on both campus and off including a gorgeous Georgian themed campus, Italianate commercial on high street and good urban infill.
* Great tree canopy both on and off campus.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Access to Dwtn Cincinnati is very inconvenient (50 mins) but the majority of Oxford residents work in Oxford. Dwtn Hamilton is also only 20 minutes away.
* Almost all for-sale property in historic Oxford are rental properties. Sadly one needs to resident in more suburban parts of town to find owner occupied property.
* Oxford Elementary is located just outside of the historic core. Unfortunately the middle school and high school are located on the edge of town, and thus are not walkable.