Community Profile: Over the Rhine in Cincinnati, Ohio

This report provides a comprehensive community profile of Over the Rhine (OTR) in Cincinnati, Ohio. It begins with an introduction to the diverse communities within the United States and then focuses on the history of OTR, which was originally settled by German immigrants. The report details the cultural aspects of the community, including language, religion, food, and traditions, and how they have evolved over time. It analyzes demographic changes, including population shifts, racial composition, and socioeconomic factors, and provides current statistical data on population, median age, and family income. The report also examines the geographic boundaries of OTR and the social issues facing the community, particularly crime, including violent and property crimes. Finally, the report discusses potential interventions to address these issues, such as improved transportation, social development, and public awareness campaigns, offering a multifaceted view of the challenges and opportunities within the Over the Rhine community.

OVER THE RINE COMMUNITY PROFILE
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Introduction
The American population is comprised of composed of various communities ranging
from migrants to indigenous people. Some of these communities share unique attributes that
differentiate them from the rest of the American population. Some of these differences may
range from geographical location, dominant culture, demographic, social and economic class,
and the dominant race. Similarly, these communities may possess visible similarities or
differences with the rest of American society. The German migrants are an example of
communities living in the United States of America. Over the Rhine, community dates from
about 150 years ago and comprises mainly of German migrants residing in Cincinnati. As a
result of revolutions in the German states back in 1840, thousands of Germans migrated into the
United States to seek refuge. Their settlement in Cincinnati was influenced majorly by the
availability of affordable rental units.Similarly, the attractiveness of the city of Cincinnati was
the multiplicity of opportunities for immigrants. These opportunities include working in several
factories in the region, working in the flourishing coal industry and farming on readily available
but swiftly disappearing land. To date, the community has undergone multiple demographic
changes and cultural transformations. The focus of this paper will be on analyzing various
attributes of the Over the Rhine in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The culture
Notably, the majority of the people who made up over the Rhine community in the
1830’s were German refugees living in the United States of America. Over the Rhine remained
to be the center of German culture majorly because of the high number of the German
population. In this regard, the community had its clubs and newspapers published in the German
language. Additionally, it also had its churches practicing German culture. On religious matters,

a large number of German emigrants were protestants, Catholics or unaffiliated to any religion.
There were also minority Muslims and Jews. Similarly, traditional Christian holidays such as
Easter and Christmas were largely celebrated here (Global education,2017).
Germans are known to be individuals who love sausage and beer. As part of keeping up
with the German tradition, Cincinnati has several beer breweries such as hudephol and Christian
Moerlein. Additionally, there is also an increasing number of clubs meant to satisfy the
population’s thirst for beer Germans are also known for their hearty foods which mainly
comprises of sauerkraut, potatoes, turnips, beets, cabbage, and pork. In keeping up with the
history of the German food, Cincinnati has several restaurants offering German Food. These
include Hofbrauhaus in Kentucky and Mecklenburg Gardens. Under their culture, lunch is
considered to be the main meal of the day; however, this perception is not widely accepted as it
used to be in the past (Global education, 2017).
Although they were among the first settlers in the city, Germans were not the majority
until the number of German migrants started coming in large numbers from the 1830’s. With the
increase in the number of German emigrants, the region initially characterized by farmland and
gardens was transformed into a neighborhood full of life. At its peak, the population of over the
Rhine was at over 45000 out of which about 30000 were German Americans (Otrfoundation,
2019).
Additionally, the neighborhood was also home to several other ethnic groups but the
region's socioeconomic structure changed as people with money began moving to the different
areas including Clifton heights, Prince Hill or Mt Auburn Caryville. However, the area continued
to be a headquarter of a majority of German societies. The neighborhood was hated and lived at
the same time. It became home to multiple restaurants, beer gardens, salons, and theaters. In

addition, it was also a power center where corruption deals were schemed by the then head of the
Republican Party George Cox (Otrfoundation, 2019).
Its original culture, however, took a significant setback from World War I’s prohibition
and Hysteria. The culture of placing a high value on beer slowly started disappearing. The social
and economic consequences of prohibition led to the destruction of family businesses and the
elimination of thousands of jobs. The impact of these disruptions was the loss of German-ness
which was largely celebrated in the neighborhood (Otrfoundation, 2019). The improvement in
infrastructure also saw a departure of a high number of its initial occupants especially the
working-class families leaving room for the arrival of new American born emigrants. With these
new trends, the neighborhood increasingly became home to the working poor(Otrfoundation,
2019).
Changing demographics
As attention shifted to the creation of interstates, OTR’s demographics started changing.
The large African American populations residing in the east and west of OTR were eliminated to
pay the way for the creation of transportation routes. As a consequence, OTR became home to
multiple poor black families. Similarly, the living conditions became overcrowded making OTR
unsafe and unsanitary. Moving into the 1980s, the region was characterized by extreme poverty
and crime making it the most disreputable neighborhood in Cincinnati(Otrfoundation, 2019).
Population
Generally, the state of Ohio is estimated to have a population of about 11,586,941 people.
Out of this 298011 reside in Cincinnati. As per the 2010 population census, over-the Rhine
population was estimated in 6064.Males from the most dominant gender with a total of 3542, of
the total population while females form a whole of 2522 (Cincinnati,2019).

Median age
The median age of a population divides it into two equal groups with half of the
population being younger and the other half being older than the median age. The majority of the
male and female population is aged between 22 and 59 years while the minority is aged above
85(Cincinnati, 2019). The median age for the entire community is estimated to be 31.4
(Areavibes, 2019).
Family income
Family income denotes all the income earned by family members aged 15 years and
above. On average, the family income for residents of over the Rhine is estimated to be $13,488.
These statistics are based on the 2010 census (Cincinnati-oh.gov., 2019).
Geographic boundaries
Over the Rhine is a USA neighborhood located in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio State. The
community is boarded by vine streets, McMicken Ave, central Parkway, Reading, Eleanor,
Sycamore and Dorsey.The downtown neighborhood is located on the north side of what was
formerly a small canal commonly referred to as the Rhine by initial German Immigrants who
inhabited America’s most significant historic district (Renn, 2010).
Race
Over the Rhine’s population comprises about 1.2 percent of Cincinnati’s population.
Additionally, this population consists of individuals drawn from different races. As per the 2000
census, the number of whites living in over the Rhine comprised 19.4% of the community. On
the same note, African Americans were the majority comprising 76.9% of the population, while
Latinos and Hispanics comprised 0.6% of the population. Other races constitute less than 4%
(Bureau, 2019). However; according to recent statistics, the community of over the Rhine is

estimated to be 49.5% black and 40.6% white. This change in demographics is largely attributed
to contemporary gratification (Statisticalatlas, 2019).
Gender
As per 2010, the majority of the occupants of over the Rhine neighborhood are males. In
this regard, out of the 6064 Individuals believed to occupy the region by 2010, 3542 were males
while 2522 were females (Cincinnati-oh.gov, 2019).
Issues facing the community
With the changing demographics in communities, deviance is likely to emerge. Deviance
refers to any social behaviors that violate standard community norms. Deviance may lead to
several issues such as the increase in criminal activities and crime rates, prostitution and rape
cases among others. These may also be referred to as social issues affecting communities. An
example of the most common social problems in the Rhine community is crime. The increase in
crime and criminal activities has escalated in the recent past. Crime may arise as a result of
multiple factors. These factors include parental neglect, alcohol and drug abuse, low self-esteem
and poverty. The risk of becoming a criminal may also be informed by the circumstance in
which individuals are born. Some have described OTR as a precarious point of gathering for the
homeless, drug addicts and criminals. Some of these negative conations of the neighbors may
have led to a feeling of hopelessness among the population of the neighborhood. To others, the
surge in crime rates over the Rhine may be linked to factors such as poverty, lack of employment
and low levels of education (Pilcher,2015).
Notable crimes reported in the regions include violent crimes such as homicides, rape,
robbery and aggravated assault. Additionally, property crimes such as breaking, burglary, car
theft have also been witnessed. For example, in the year 2016, a total of 2351 cases of violent

crimes were reported.Additionally, 2015 statistics also showed that one person in every 126
people experienced violent crime(Knight, 2017). This number was a decline from one person out
of 102 people in 2011. Aditionally crime rates have also escalated the number of shootings with
2015, recording the highest number of shootings in recent history. To expound on this, 2015
witnessed a historically high number of 479 shootings. These were both fatal and non-fatal.
However, these numbers declined in 2016 by about 11 percent, to 426 people. On the same note,
the last five years have witnessed an inconsistency in the number of shootings with some years
recording a significant increase and others recording a considerable decline in the number of
violent crime cases (Knight, 2017).
Similarly, June 2019 was described as the deadliest month in the recent history of Over
the Rhine. Most recent shootings in Cincinnati were witnessed in over the Rhine with the
affected being a 13-year old boy and a 37-year-old gentleman. The two murders took place near
Grant Park in Over the Rhine. These shootings depict an increase in the cases of crime and
criminal activities in the neighborhood (Ingram, 2019). As necessitated by these occurrences,
people living within the Over-the-Rhine community have joined hands with the police to help
unravel the crime mystery for the sake of peace and tranquility in Cincinnati. Additionally, in an
attempt to curb criminal activities in the region, the police department in Cincinnati has
increased patrols. This has been witnessed with the increase in the number of bike patrols. In his
own admission, the chief from the region maintains that crime has been a big challenge in over
the Rhine for some time but with the increased police patrols, the numbers of arrests have also
increased (Ingram, 2019).
Interventions

. Various interventions may be enforced to deal with crime in Over the Rhine. To start
with, urban transportation systems have had a significant role in the increase in crime and
criminal activities. In this regard transportation systems such as roads and rails aid the movement
of criminals to different crime locations. Enforcement of security measures such as increasing
the number of security checks and suspending some of the systems would be quite useful in
reducing crime (Kondo, Andreyeva, South, MacDonald & Branas, 2018).
Additionally; crime might also be reduced through social development. In this regard,
policymakers need to focus on the root causes of crime such as poverty and unemployment
(Sampson, Eck & Dunham, 2010). Finally, the use of social campaigns to educate the public on
the negatives of crime could also be an effective strategy in dealing with crime (Welsh &
Farrington,2012).
References

Areavibes. (2019). Over-The-Rhine, OH, Population & Demographics. Retrieved 30 September
2019, from https://www.areavibes.com/cincinnati-oh/over-the-rhine/demographics/
Bureau, U. (2019). American FactFinder. Retrieved 1 October 2019, from
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/data-tools/aff.html
Cincinnati. (2019). Census & Demographics. Retrieved 30 September 2019, from
https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/maps-and-data/census-demographics/
Cincinnati-oh.gov. (2019). Over-the-Rhine Statistical Neighborhood Approximation. Retrieved 1
October 2019, from https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/linkservid/B5547015-A0F1-
CB62-3D788CC10EA7C3BD/showMeta/0/
Global education. (2017). German Cincinnati History & Heritage • World Affairs Council of
Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Retrieved 30 September 2019, from
https://globalcincinnati.org/2017/05/25/german-cincinnati-history-heritage/
Ingram, A. (2019). Community speaks out on the heels of 2 recent murders near Over-the-Rhine
park. Retrieved 2 October 2019, from https://local12.com/news/local/community-speaks-
out-on-the-heels-of-2-recent-murders-near-over-the-rhine-park
Knight, C. (2017). Cincinnati releases the 2016 crime report. Retrieved 2 October 2019, from
https://www.fox19.com/story/34347725/cincinnati-releases-2016-crime-report/
Kondo, M. C., Andreyeva, E., South, E. C., MacDonald, J. M., & Branas, C. C. (2018).
Neighborhood interventions to reduce violence. A Journal of public health, 39, 253-271.
Otrfoundation. (2019). Over The Rhine Foundation. Retrieved 1 October 2019, from
http://www.otrfoundation.org/OTR_History.htm

Pilcher, J. (2015). What's behind the rise in Cincinnati shootings?. Retrieved 2 October 2019,
from https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/09/17/behind-rise-cincinnati-
shootings/32520965/
Renn, A. (2010). The Neighborhoods of Cincinnati - Aaron M. Renn. Retrieved 1 October 2019,
from https://www.aaronrenn.com/2010/06/06/the-neighborhoods-of-cincinnati/
Sampson, R., Eck, J. E., & Dunham, J. (2010). Super controllers and crime prevention: A routine
activity explanation of crime prevention success and failure. Security Journal, 23(1), 37-
51.
Statisticalatlas. (2019). Race and Ethnicity in Over-The-Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio. Retrieved 1
October 2019, from https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/Ohio/Cincinnati/Over-The-
Rhine/Race-and-Ethnicity
Welsh, B. C., & Farrington, D. P. (2012). Science, politics, and crime prevention: Toward a new
crime policy. Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(2), 128-133.