Cincinnati NIMBYs Say Their Mall Is Not Like L.A.’s Mall

An op-ed piece in the Cincinnati Enquirer, written by a board member of a local home owners association details how the new Cincinnati Homeless Mall is really not like L.A.’s PATH Mall. Here's the article.

The proposed West End Citylink mall is patterned after the PATH Mall. The differences cited in the op-ed piece are this:

- PATH Mall has 20 social services while the Citylink mall will only have 10.

- PATH Mall has numerous government services while Citylink has none.

- PATH Mall is 40,000 square feet while Citylink is double the size.

- Citylink is close to 3 schools. (Actually, the PATH Mall is close to 3 schools, as well.)

I think citing differences between a Los Angeles model and Cincinnati’s proposed service mall doesn’t make sense. Obviously, models need to adapt based on in what community they are established.

It would be wrong for Cincinnati to duplicate a Los Angeles model exactly. They need to design the model based on the needs of their community.

A homeless service mall—“one-stop center” of homeless services—in a community helps facilitate better agency coordination, rallies a community around addressing homelessness, is cost effective by sharing overhead, and provides easier access for people looking for services.

It just makes sense…