Pleasant Ridge is a mostly gaslight residential neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio with a small business district occupied largely by long-standing, independent businesses. It is one of the most diverse, dispersed and durable communities in the entire region according to a 2008 study of 122 communities conducted by the Cincinnatus Association. The population was 8,083 at the 2010 census.
In recent years Pleasant Ridge has been abutted by development in the unzoned Columbia Township that has seen the addition of several retailers. In 2005 plans were put in place by Hamilton County to improve the flow and the appearance of this area.
Pleasant Ridge has a library, a new elementary school (Pleasant Ridge Montessori), and a community center whose municipal swim team has won multiple Cincinnati City Championship meets throughout the years.
In 2010, as part of a larger economic revitalization movement, Pleasant Ridge’s Business District was the first in the region to be granted the designation of Community Entertainment District (CED). This was the result of a grassroots campaign, spearheaded by the Pleasant Ridge Development Corporation. The CED enables businesses within the specified area to be eligible for up to 5 service or retail licenses for beer, wine & liquor through the State of Ohio’s Division of Liquor Control.
The neighborhood is bordered by the cities of Norwood and Golf Manor, Amberley Village, the neighborhoods of Kennedy Heights and Oakley, and unincorporated Columbia Township. Pleasant Ridge is also home to Nativity School, a Catholic K-8 grade school (a National Blue Ribbon School winner).