Recycle the images of upscale builders competing to sell McMansions on postage-sized lots in distant suburbs. The city of Cincinnati and six custom builders have concocted a new home show geared toward making your lifestyle convenient, affordable, rewardable and environmentally friendly.  

As the summer of 2011 steadily approaches, ArtWorks continues to pump out new projects to spread smiles and encourage cranium usage all over Porkopolis. The group’s newest project, Queen City Art Racks, is an effort to decorate bike racks in public spaces as part of an artist-designed, green initiative.  

In the early months of 2010, Danny Klinger, director of OTR ADOPT, had just about all he could take of witnessing local gems fall victim to the wrecking ball over and over again. After studying community and economic development at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and writing his thesis on historic preservation in OTR, he set out to give the area the recognition it deserved and the facelift it needed by starting OTR ADOPT, a building adoption program that works to identify new owners for abandoned buildings and damaged structures.  

The weather in Cincinnati likes to keep residents on their toes. One day the sun will grace us with 60-degree temperatures, the next day we wake to frost on our windshields. It’s no longer wintertime but not quite spring, so what is there to do? The Civic Garden Center has the right ingredients to give you a jump-start on your springtime landscaping, fertilizing and composting.  

With more than 2,000 attendees at the 2010 show, around 40 percent of those coming from outside Greater Cincinnati, 20th Century Cincinnati is one of the nation's best — and few — Modernism events. No matter if you're a treasure hunter, a vintage home restorer or nostalgic for the past (or Don Draper's apartment), show producer Bruce Metzger guarantees "a very cool scene" this weekend.  

Uptown Cincinnati is home to some of the city's largest employers, best known attractions and entertainment spots. In the right spots you'll see vibrancy, potential and even a little charm. But like in so many areas of the urban core, other parts are run down, prone to violence. The nonprofit Uptown Consortium has promoted the revitalization of these urban neighborhoods since 2004.  

Cincinnati's Main Street, as do most Main Streets in other towns, stretches right through the heart of the city. Most people cross it to go to baseball games or cross under it on the highway. I rarely have the chance to visit OTR stretch of Main Street, but this section is experiencing a revival to rival any going on in Over-the-Rhine.  

What started as a fundraising idea has turned into a full-fledged company that's taking Cincinnati and Newport by storm ... or at least on a tour. Seven years ago Jerry Gels II — along with his father Jerome Gels, sister Laura Gels and friend Dave Kohake — founded the Newport Gangster Tour. Mac Cooley and Brad Hill quickly joined the team, and last year the group formed Newport Walking Tours LLC.  

For anyone trying to sell their house these days, “slow” might even sound optimistic when describing the real estate market. But what about those high-end condos that loom over the river or sit perched on a hillside. They can’t be selling ... or can they? Oddly enough, luxury condos seem to be the exception when it comes to the down real estate market, with many new developments already at 60 percent occupancy or better.  

A cool breeze gently blows through rows of leafy green grape vines beside Ed and Beth McDonald's home. Soft pastel tablecloths ripple across wooden picnic tables adorned simply with silver lanterns. The relaxing sound of water lapping in a pond completes the idyllic atmosphere. Welcome to Hanover Winery in Hanover Township near Oxford.  

CitiRama is an urban home show spawned from Homearama, which stands as the longest-running home show in the country after 49 consecutive years of operation. Currently in its ninth year, CitiRama is annually held at an up-and-coming urban housing development, and this year's edition highlights Rockford Woods in Northside.  

As the snow melts away and the first signs of spring begin to erupt from the cold earth, it's time to start thinking about long walks with your four-legged best friend. Dogs are an irrepressible source of joy and companionship, but if you live in an urban environment there are a few issues you should consider.  

Despite logging record cold and snowfall this winter, many of us might still be yearning for the comfort of a crackling fire and hot cup of cocoa. Sorry to say, making cocoa is fairly simple; providing a warm crackling fire, especially in a prohibitive home, apartment or condo, well, that's a bit more challenging.  

Previously I only felt bombarded by car commercials. Now I feel inundated by real estate newspaper ads, billboards and even bus stop waiting benches telling me I have to sign up for the home buying tax credit before it's too late.