On August 12^th, ULI Columbus hosted the “Metro Metrics: Urban Competitiveness Redefined” breakout event for the Columbus 2050 initiative. The event took place at Easton Town Center where the national City in 2050 exhibit was on display until August 25^th. Throughout the event, local experts discussed and identified priorities for development in Central Ohio based on regional demographic trends.  The following input gathered during the event will be used to inform a long-term strategic vision for Central Ohio and a publication that will be used to guide regional decision-making.

The event began with presentations by local experts in demographic research and consulting. Presenters included Eben Dowell of Community Research Partners, Jason Reece of the Kirwan Institute for Race and Ethnicity, and Derrick Clay of New Visions Group and the Board of Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC). Highlights from these presentations are shown in the following video:

After the presentations, participants engaged in roundtable discussions and generated the following responses:

What do we hope to accomplish with our marketplaces by 2050?

(Note: for this discussion, participants wrote down their responses on notecards that were voted on later by the entire group.  The number of votes is listed beside each response.)

• More coalition building and relationship building between our various communities to build capacity (5 votes)
• One school district per county (4 votes)
• International brand identity at neighborhood level (4 votes)
• Equity in access to education for all children: more magnet schools, tying schools to community development (4 votes)
• Equity in quality and access to education (3 votes)
• More prevention-oriented investments in communities (education, community development) and less funding for incarcerations and dealing with health disparity (2 votes)
• Assure housing opportunities for low-income residents in healthy communities (2 votes)
• City agency collaboration within and between cities and townships (2 votes)
• Different communities acting along common interests (2 votes)
• Embrace diversity and encourage respect (1 vote)
• Targeting engagement activities in all neighborhoods (1 vote)
• Educate broader community about the economic and fiscal costs of disparities (1 vote)
• Require health to be considered in decision-making (HIA)
• Education about neighborhoods and lifestyle
• Look for solutions or best practices that have been implemented in other cities/states/communities
• Promote early childhood education
• What does “smart and open” mean in terms of policy?
• Bus pass is the 16-year-old right of passage
• Employee incentives for multi-modal transit
• Regionalize government

What are potential impediments to reaching those goals?

• Building affordable housing where there are already failing schools and disconnected infrastructure
• King property rights: can’t regulate growth regionally, not enabled to mandate regional growth and support healthy communities
• Current state leadership
• State and local regulations which encourage isolated decision-making and outdated, unproductive interregional competition
• Disconnected institutional actors
• Un-streamlined and un-prioritized code change process
• Funding structure for transportation improvements
• Change priority of transportation system to create better benefit to more people at a lower cost, i.e. don’t require everyone to own a car
• Physical and regulatory barriers: unions, buses, computer systems, emotions (defining the problem differently)
• Zoning and process that is antiquated and inflexible

What specifically must we do over the next 39 years to reach our goals?

• Require cross-community conversations in: development, transit, health, education, planning
• More school-based community development
• Change school funding structure/system
• Do a better job of teaching government and policy making in K-12 schools
• Secede from the state of Ohio
• Reconfigure how governments work
• Use the state’s financial crisis to redirect resources into community prevention and building (holistically – social and physical development)
• Less prison funding
• Less emergency room expenditures/visits
• Create a single school district for the region
• Create an organization and funding system for regional transit/ transportation system
• Eliminate dams
• Columbus on food network
• Public signs in different languages
• Create center that focuses on international brand development; participation by local international companies
• Expand reach of airport

What is your big idea for communities in the Central Ohio of 2050?

• Dissolve regional school district boundaries
• Regional governance: dissolve city/county boundaries with expanded version of area commission structure
• Require community development service for a college diploma
• Regionalize government
• Get businesses to lead change
• World expo in Columbus

We Want Your Input!

Please leave a comment with your responses to the questions above.