The numbers indicate several counties in the Cincinnati region dropped in population, a shift away from rural sections that had been growing in recent decades.

Advertisement Census: City core, urban growth is new population trend New numbers show residents moving back to the city Share Shares Copy Link Copy

It's probably too early to conclude that the suburbs are slipping, but population growth in Ohio is not as robust as it was previously.The latest census estimates add up to a trend toward urban living.Watch this storyThe numbers indicate several counties in the Cincinnati region dropped in population, a shift away from rural sections that had been growing in recent decades.While the influx of new city residents isn't strong enough to prove a dramatic lasting change, it is raising a few eyebrows about longer-term impact.Hip spaces like Taste of Belgium along a revitalized Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine reflect the sense of urban attraction.Jean-Francois Flechet moved from Northern Kentucky into Over-the-Rhine not long ago.His investment close to the city's under-construction streetcar line speaks for itself about the trend."I can walk to the Art Museum," Flechet said. "I can walk to the Museum Center. I can walk to Findlay Market, to the stadiums, to the riverbank."Urbanites like Elizabeth Bartley can relate.She moved to Walnut Hills a few years ago, ahead of the trend and before the new condo craze took hold."It was starting to change over there, but there wasn't yet a trend, I would say, for people moving back to the city," Bartley told WLWT News 5. "In a very short amount of time, I saw that changing. I saw families moving in, people moving in, people wanting to have shorter commute times, all that stuff."Bartley added that the unique sense of community is part of the allure to the urban environment.Millennials and boomers alike note shorter commute times, walkability and a sense of connectivity as factors in their desire for city space."The millennials actually like to travel by transit," Urban Fast Forward Realtor Kathleen Norris said. "They like to be able to walk out and get a drink or some dinner; walk to the game."To date, 3CDC has built 300 condos in Cincinnati's burgeoning core.That includes 55 in just the past few weeks.Some young professionals said that the price point has become prohibitive for them, so they look at ring neighborhoods such as Clifton and Walnut Hills.Mayor John Cranley wants greater focus on neighborhood development and a reduction in crime.Citing the condo costs that might be out of reach for some in the housing market, Cranley said, "Now the opportunity is where is that tide going to go? And I think it can go to Price Hill. I think it can go to Avondale. I think it can go to Northside."The numbers suggest more twenty-somethings are thinking urban as their preferred living option, indicative of a longer-term trend."It's not just sort of a little blip," Bartley emphasized. "That has really changed over the last few years, that expectation of this next generation coming in."