Ohio

Mayor Nan Whaley on economic transformation in Dayton, OH

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The Greater Downtown Plan will guide development for Dayton, OH Photo via jimcrotty.com.The Greater Downtown Plan will guide development for Dayton, OH Photo via jimcrotty.com.

Nan Whaley, Mayor of Dayton, OH and member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, sees smart growth strategies playing an important role in positioning the city for a new generation of economic vibrancy.

A former city commissioner, Whaley was elected mayor of Dayton in November, 2013. In her inaugural speech she was upfront about the challenges the community faces, including economic stagnation brought on by a decline in the city’s manufacturing base and reduced federal spending affecting a major nearby Air Force base.

Local Leaders Council

Smart Growth America holds workshop in Cincinnati, OH on implementing transit-oriented development

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Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati, OH. Photo via Flickr.

Smart Growth America visited Cincinnati, OH, last week to meet with residents and City officials about the many benefits of transit, and development surrounding transit, and why these strategies are important to future development in Cincinnati and the surrounding region.

In June the City of Cincinnati adopted a new comprehensive plan, has updated the Green Cincinnati plan and is currently revising its land development code. All three emphasize strategies that will help support smart growth in Cincinnati.

Technical assistance

Partnership in the News: Cincinnati makes strides toward transit oriented development

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Cincinnati-Streetcar-Announcement

Cincinnati, OH is a regional leader in pursuing ways to make the city more livable and attractive to residents and business. To help advance the city’s smart growth goals even further, Cincinnati will receive technical assistance from Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute to inform residents and community leaders about the benefits of transit oriented development (TOD).

Roger Millar, Vice President of Smart Growth America, says, “This workshop will provide the community with an opportunity to learn more about transit options and transit oriented development in the context of Cincinnati. Now is a great time to assess how Cincinnati can most effectively align its development with transit investments.”

Technical assistance

A new bill in Congress would make streets safer and more accessible nationwide

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Phoo courtesy Michigan Municipal League (MML) via FlickrPhoto courtesy Michigan Municipal League (MML) via Flickr.

Complete Streets are designed with all users in mind. Complete Streets strategies help everyone, no matter of age, ability or how they chose to travel, get where they need to go quickly, easily and safely. Nationwide, nearly 500 states and localities have adopted a Complete Streets Policy directing their transportation planners and engineers to routinely design and operate the entire right of way to enable safe access for all users, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation.

Complete Streets

Cuyahoga County, OH hosts public workshop on Complete Streets

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[caption id="attachment_29143" align="alignnone" width="700"]Photograph Courtesy OzinOH (via Flickr) Cuyahoga County Courthouse Photograph courtesy OzinOH (via Flickr)[/caption]
Cuyahoga County officials and local residents met with representatives from Smart Growth America on May 1 and 2, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshops aimed to give Cuyahoga County strategies to create a built environment that focuses on better and more accessible transportation options for all residents.

“Providing a multi-modal transportation network is a key component to Cuyahoga County’s guiding principles of designing a place-based development strategy. Under the leadership of County Executive Ed Fitzgerald, the County also recognizes the momentum of the City of Cleveland’s efforts to implement a Complete and Green Streets policy and embraces this opportunity to explore the concept of Complete Streets on the regional level,” said Glenn Coyne, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission.

Complete Streets Technical assistance

Greater Ohio, ULI and LOCUS host speaking series on walkable urbanism in Ohio

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Cleveland developer Ari Maron discusses his projects. Source: Smart Growth America.

The following post has been republished from our partners at the Greater Ohio Policy Center.

In Ohio and around the country, real estate developers and investors are recognizing pent-up demand for and a market shift toward sustainable, walkable urban places. Despite this paradigm shift and change in market momentum, many local, state and federal policies currently in place distort development incentives and hamper efforts to create the development consumers want and that support strong local economies. Urban developers and real estate and land use experts can align to provide state and national policy makers with expert advice on current consumer demand and the many benefits of urban and metropolitan growth strategies.

Over the past few days—January 16th and 17th—Greater Ohio traveled to Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland to co-host events with the Urban Land Institute district councils of Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, as well as LOCUS to host “Advancing Ohio’s Urban Agenda: Walkable Communities for Globally Competitive Cities,” an exclusive series featuring Christopher Leinberger, President of LOCUS—a national network of real estate developers and investors that advocates for sustainable, walkable urban development in America’s metropolitan areas.

Local Leaders Council LOCUS

Partnership in the News: Cincinnati approves comprehensive plan for city

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Last month, the Cincinnati City Planning Commission approved Plan Cincinnati, a comprehensive, community-based approach to future development. Part of this plan was funded by a multi-million dollar HUD Community Challenge grant intended to help the city to streamline its land use codes, facilitating future development.

The Plan is an opportunity to strengthen what people love about the city, what works and what needs more attention, says Katherine Keough-Jurs, senior city planner and project manager.

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Upcoming Webinars: November 2012

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Tuesday, November 6 and Tuesday, November 13 3:00-4:00pm ET. Join the National Endowment for the Arts to learn how organizations can apply to the 2013 Our Town program.

Tuesday, November 13, 1:00-2:40pm ET. The Power of People: Engaging Stakeholders in Your Community’s Projects. Join NACo to learn strategies for county staff to engage elected officials and other community leaders in community planning projects.

Thursday, November 15, 1:00-2:15pm ET. Join the City of Moline, IL, the City of Cincinnati, OH, and the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities for a discussion of transit-oriented development (TOD) projects in each city.

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Newark, OH looks to support downtown businesses through better parking policies

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Downtown Newark, Ohio. Photo from UrbanOhio.com.

When considering ways to boost businesses downtown, officials in Newark, Ohio, recognized better parking policies as one of the key requirements. A free technical assistance workshop from Smart Growth America helped them figure out how to make it happen.

Founded in 1802, Newark, Ohio is rich with history and character and is the epitome of small town America. The town continues to hold onto its roots in rural traditions and a strong work ethic, as has been a primarily industry- and business-focused area for some time.

Now local leaders are working on a number of policies to make the city even better, and Downtown Newark has become the focus of these improvement efforts. Downtown has remained the hub of commercial and public life in Newark, and there has been significant momentum among Newark residents to revitalize the area. The town ultimately aims to spur economic growth and create a thriving center for people and businesses.

Technical assistance

Sprawl costs Ohio’s families and its regional economy, new report shows

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The twelve counties that make up Northeast Ohio are home to a community that prides itself on its public art, theaters, parks and hiking trails, and home-grown businesses. Now, a new vanguard of engaged residents are working with a local organization to make Northeast Ohio even better.

The first step in this process is to examine what’s working in Northeast Ohio’s communities, and a new survey from the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium (NEOSCC) does just that. NEOSCC released its Conditions & Trends platform on Tuesday, during the Consortium’s monthly meeting in Youngstown. The extensive inventory of Northeast Ohio’s assets, challenges and year-over-year trends provides a comprehensive assessment of how the region could improve.

Prominent among the findings is the fact that Northeast Ohio has spread out over the past several decades, and that this trend is damaging the region’s economy. Between 1979 and 2006, the average number of people per acre of developed land in Northeast Ohio declined by 22.96%, with many residents moving from urban areas like Cleveland and Akron to more sparsely populated ones.

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