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'Blue Goes Green' Shows How Cincinnati's District 3 Went Net Zero

cincinnati district 3
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Blue Goes Green Vimeo

As the City of Cincinnati figures out how to proceed on a proposed new Police Department District 5 headquarters, can it learn from its previous work in building a new District 3? Former City Councilwoman and filmmaker Laure Quinlivan believes so.

She produced a documentary about the process through which District 3 was constructed. Raising $60,000 from foundations and corporations, Quinlivan made the film https://vimeo.com/314597353" target="_blank">Blue Goes Green in 2017 and it has aired multiple times on WCET and on public television stations around the country.

District 3 used community input and includes public art, a community space, and a net-zero heating and cooling system, which taps into solar power and other conservation methods, making the total amount of energy used by the building each year offset by the renewable energy created onsite, the Business Courier reported at the time.

The building that is now home to District 3, which serves the west side of the city, won a Cincinnati Design Award. District 5, which serves the northern part of the city, should learn from the process, Quinlivan has said.

Joining Cincinnati Edition to discuss the police projects are Laure Quinlivan (@LaureQuinlivan), who is also well-known to local residents as a longtime TV news reporter; Cincinnati Police (@CincyPD) Lieutenant Steve Saunders, and Price Hill resident Patricia West, who was on the citizen advisory team for the District 3 project.

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Michael Monks brings a broad range of experience to WVXU-FM as the host of Cincinnati Edition, Cincinnati Public Radio's weekday news and information talk show.