According to the bar chart below, 209,000 additional households are projected in the Central Ohio region by 2030. Where will they go? More importantly, how will they relate to the rest of the urban environment around them?
Scenario 1: Mixed-use, compact, walkable communities with neighborhood business districts
Scenario 2: Half-acre lots on cul-de-sacs in sub-divisions with hundreds of other identical houses, and strip malls on former country roads
Smart growth or sprawl? Conservation or consumption? Walking or driving? Diversity or segregation? In all likelihood, we’ll see some of both scenarios. I certainly hope for more of the former, but I wouldn’t be surprised if technology overcomes energy costs in a few years and it’s back to the status quo. I guess we’ll see. The best thing you can do is vote with your feet and let ODOT, MORPC, and your local elected representatives know what you want.
Planners’ challenge: weighing price of gasoline vs. magnetism of suburbia
Sunday, June 15, 2008 3:33 AM
By Mark Ferenchik
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCHSoaring gas prices are prompting potential home buyers to look closer to the central city to save money, say those promoting “smart growth” for Columbus.
They want people to buy in urban neighborhoods where they can walk to the store and bike to work.
But planners and developers say the slowdown in central Ohio’s outward growth is temporary. A regional planning agency says central Ohio’s population is expected to grow by 500,000 by 2030, and 60 percent of that growth will be in unincorporated land, much of it outside Franklin County.
Planners say families still will want a house with a good-size yard in an outer-ring suburb or township where they expect to find good services and reputable schools.
Those conflicting views are making it tough on people whose job it is to project where you’ll live and work.
“It definitely presents a huge challenge for communities planning at any level,” said Matt LaMantia, a regional development coordinator for the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.
MORPC used census data for the 2030 population projection, which covers 12 counties — from Marion to Ross and Madison to Licking, LaMantia said.
This article is silly and doesn’t grasp the whole free market thing. Take these two paragraph citing unnamed planners and developers for instance…
“But planners and developers say the slowdown in central Ohio’s outward growth is temporary. A regional planning agency says central Ohio’s population is expected to grow by 500,000 by 2030, and 60 percent of that growth will be in unincorporated land, much of it outside Franklin County.”
“Planners say families still will want a house with a good-size yard in an outer-ring suburb or township where they expect to find good services and reputable schools.”
There’s a big difference between “want” and “afford”, because that house that these families “want” comes with huge commuting costs. Applying knowledge from my Econ 101 class that I took about 10 years ago, if people can’t afford something, then demand goes down, and then the price follows. This isn’t rocket surgery. Just imagine trying to unload a house in Pataskala when gas hits $8.