An Off the Rails Roundup
Sometimes, the things that stir the most debate aren’t sweeping policy changes, but whether or not you have to pay a dollar to park near Brassica.
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Tag: Housing
Empowering Communities with MORPC
Disparate problems can sometimes be addressed with common solutions. Like affordable housing and climate change. In this week’s episode, Columbus Underground co-founder and editor Walker Evans sat down with Robert Williams, the Senior Director of Residential Services at MORPC. Together, they unpack the organization’s grassroots efforts to keep families in their homes, lower energy costs, and reduce environmental impact. From essential home repairs to comprehensive weatherization programs, this conversation reveals how a community-driven approach can make a lasting impact on Central Ohio’s housing crisis and sustainability goals.
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Housing
As the Assistant Director of Housing Strategies for the City of Columbus, Erin Prosser wakes up every day thinking about housing in the city. In today’s episode, we discuss strategies for combatting NIMBYism, the importance of non-commercial partners when we think about housing, why housing should be thought of as infrastructure, and how we can right-size our systems in order to align them to our priorities.
As a bonus this week, we have an additional conversation with entrepreneur David Hunegnaw about one possible micro solution to density: Lease the Lawn.
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Council President Shannon Hardin
As a growing city, we have growing city problems. No one knows that better than Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin. With the influx of new residents and new jobs, President Hardin discusses transit as an equity issue, the importance of continuing conversations around race and policing, why we have to do big things now, and the big changes coming to how the city council will be elected, starting next year.
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Department of Development
At a time when the city seems close to a boom in terms of economic development, it also faces challenges with that growth. This week, Columbus’s Director of Development Michael Stevens discusses the portfolio of the Department of Development, how the department works to improve the lives of Columbus residents, evaluating investments at a neighborhood level, and how tax abatements happen in the city.
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Upper Arlington
Communities around Central Ohio are facing rapid change. That’s apparent in Upper Arlington where Steve Schoeny serves as City Manager. In this week’s episode, we discussed the role of a city manager, his time as Development Director for the City of Columbus, addressing diversity in communities, and the new development coming to UA.
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Homeport
54,000 households in Central Ohio pay 50% of their income for housing. Homeport, along with other Columbus-based organizations, are working to fix that. This week, Homeport President and CEO Bruce Luecke discusses their work, the growing need for affordable housing in Columbus, and the contributing factors that hamper Columbus’s housing market.
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Architecture & Design Firm JBAD
The work of architects has an impact on our lives every day. But how does that work get done? This week, we’re talking architecture and development with the principal of architecture and design firm JBAD, Jonathan Barnes. We discussed how architecture firms work, the importance of relationships, the issues that should be kept in mind as Columbus continues to grow, and whether we’re doing a good job of addressing those issues.
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