Ever want to know what Cincinnati's Lower West End looked like before I-75 was built? Then check out this ArcGIS StoryMap by Deqah Hussein-Wetzel.
Not all housing was created equal...
From housing acts to real estate practices, the graphic below explains it all.
Thanks to our partner, the Robert O'Neal Multicultural Center, artist Merritt Holdcraft, and designer Deqah H.W., Urbanist Media published its first Black history activity book in 2024, which featured people and places significant to Cincinnati's African American history.
Our first season, made possible by a Truth & Reconciliation Grant from Artswave, focused on three black neighborhoods in Cincinnati, showing how they each were impacted by the highway and urban renewal.
Our second season went around the country: we explored the African American lots of Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, the legacy of Biddy Mason in Los Angeles, and the past and future of Indianapolis’ once-thriving black corridor, Indiana Avenue (made possible by a grant from Indiana Humanities).
Our fourth season, currently in development in partnership with Vanport Mosaic, will highlight the story of the lost City of Vanport and the impact of its destruction on working class Portlanders of African, Japanese, and Indigenous American descent.
In between seasons, we’ve also started airing bonus interviews with people pushing a paradigm shift toward equity in preservation and development. Our interviews with Vishaan Chakrabarti and Brent Leggs are excellent places to start.
During this virtual Q&A, you’ll hear directly from our guests, go behind the scenes of the podcast, and dive even deeper into Los Angeles’ little-known African American history, and the story of Biddy Mason.
Hear straight from our guests, who happen to both be staff members at Green-Wood Cemetery, share more on the work they are doing to uncover gravesites and resurface underrepresented histories to light.
Check out the short film we made for the ArtsWave Truth & Reconciliation grant showcase at the Freedom Center that highlights the rich African American history of Cincinnati's West End neighborhood! Photos provided by the Robert O'Neal Multicultural Arts Center (ROMAC) archives, one of our community partners.

In 2023, we held a series of in-person Listen & Learns in Cincinnati's Avondale, South Cumminsville, and Evanston neighborhoods where residents listened, conversed, and preserved their family archives.
Host a Listen & Learn event in your community today!
Email us at info@urbanistmedia[dot]org
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