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On June 9, 2026, �鶹������ý’s Future of Land and Housing program and the City of Cincinnati’s Office of Environment and Sustainability will host a scenario planning workshop on the future intersections of climate migration and housing affordability. The event, “Preparing Cincinnati,” will bring together community members, nonprofits, researchers, planners, and policymakers to explore how Cincinnati can prepare its housing, infrastructure, and neighborhoods for potential climate migration inflows in the decades ahead.

Cincinnati currently faces a shortage of 35,000 homes for low-income renters. Without proactive planning, climate migration could exacerbate the affordable housing crunch, accelerate displacement of long-time residents, and strain public services. Our session is designed to deliberately put the residents most at risk of displacement at the center of a conversation around how Cincinnati can get ahead of the pressures related to population growth. 

Grounded in the Walnut Hills neighborhood, event participants will work through a scenario planning exercise to create a number of plausible futures for the area’s community under different migration and housing conditions. Attendees will then develop the tools and strategies that could protect housing affordability for current residents while building Cincinnati’s capacity to welcome newcomers.

The session is part of �鶹������ý’s Great Lakes Receiving Network, a multi-city initiative to help Midwest cities prepare their housing and communities ahead of climate migration, in partnership with local communities and organizations. As a first step in each city where we work, we utilize our CivicSpace methodology, a people-centered approach to public policy, to engage with community members on climate migration and housing. Previous events were held in spring 2026 in Minneapolis and on the North Side and West Side of Chicago, with nearly 100 local residents and practitioners attending in total.