The housing narrative istoo focused on supply. In the November 19 press release announcing the laudable Regional Housing Coalition, the City of Columbus referred to the urgency of the “housing supply crisis.” Not the “housing crisis,” but specifically the “housing supply crisis.” However, deliberately characterizing the persistent housing precarity faced by millions of Americans for… Continue reading Too much supply-talk

From the archives: Zoning processes of the past Columbus originally passed its first zoning legislation in 1923, then made major updates in the 1950s. In this post, you'll find a collection of selected articles from The Columbus Dispatch and The Ohio State Journal about zoning issues throughout the 20th century. May 13, 1923 — The… Continue reading From the archives: Zoning

A housing crisis for every decade The current realities of our housing situation often seem new. The media regularly speaks of a “housing crisis” driven chiefly by a supply shortage. This shortage is often characterized as a result of recent underbuilding. But media headlines throughout the 20th century have consistently proclaimed the existence of a… Continue reading A housing crisis for every decade

Macro-level reactions to Phase One of the 'Zone In' updates The reforms in the ‘Zone In’ proposal resemble what cities around the country have been doing over the past few years to modernize outdated land use policy. Overall, this is a rather modest package of reforms that would create a more standardized and predictable pathway… Continue reading Macro-level reactions to Phase One of the ‘Zone In’ updates

Density Daydreams Old-time Columbus had a lot more people! Not only people, but hundreds more shops, restaurants, and retail services of all kinds were available throughout our downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. And they were accessible by foot or by using miles and miles of streetcar tracks that criss-crossed the city—in addition to interurban trains that… Continue reading Density Daydreams

How "the preferences of white property owners have been institutionalized" by land use policy Trounstine’s largely quantitative work of political science is a clear portrait of how white property owners have leveraged the power of separate political jurisdictions to exclude others while enriching themselves. Segregation by Design reveals how “the preferences of white property owners… Continue reading How jurisdictional fragmentation exacerbates inequalities

How public meetings empower neighborhood gatekeeping Einstein, Glick, and Palmer pored through thousands of meeting minutes and matched public commenters with the voter roll to make fascinating advances in the scholarly understanding of public engagement and socio-demographic status. Unsurprisingly, they found that commenters are generally older, whiter, and more likely to own property than average… Continue reading How public meetings empower neighborhood gatekeeping

💐 Thanks for making our Spring Strategy Session a success! 🥑 For our first strategy session—actually for any event—this was a fantastic exercise and demonstration of what a bunch of strangers can do with 90 minutes at the public library. This was an opportunity to explain the founding, activities, and mission of N4MN Columbus while… Continue reading 💐 Thanks for making our Spring Strategy Session a success! 🥑

What are some of the zoning reforms we support? The path to creating more housing—of all types—is complex. One track we can start with is zoning and land use reform. While zoning largely started out as a way to separate incompatible and noxious land uses, it was quickly manipulated into a form of nefarious and… Continue reading What are some of the zoning reforms we support?

Near North Side: Still recovering from decades of population and housing unit loss Our close-in urban neighborhoods were built to accommodate many thousands more residents than currently live there. Of many examples, the neighborhoods of Italian Village—formerly known as part of the Near North Side—have not recovered from the decades of devastating population loss that… Continue reading Near North Side: Still recovering from decades of population and housing unit loss

Guest Post: Adding affordable housing to South Linden This post was authored by KCG-Ascent Ventures to explain their proposal to add new affordable housing to South Linden and help illuminate the complex processes behind developing new housing in Central Ohio. Photos from the current site, an industrial and waste-processing facility In response to the overwhelming… Continue reading Guest Post: Adding affordable housing to South Linden

Do you support more housing...but have one of these common concerns? True story: we need more housing. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good, and be careful how you voice support. Find more awesome pro-housing and pro-neighbors swag here: https://neighbors-for-moar-swag.creator-spring.com/

Harrison West: Once home to 7,500 people—now about 3,500. Neighbors for More Neighbors—Columbus is excited to learn of the addition of new housing units in historic Harrison West, an important downtown neighborhood that has experienced enormous change over the past century. A plan to convert a 1927 building at 875 Michigan Avenue to residential use… Continue reading Harrison West: Once home to 7,500 people—now about 3,500.

I am your density. This is a guest post authored by Brian Higgins, Executive Director of the Parsons Avenue Redevelopment Corporation. Let us know if you're interested in authoring a guest blog post that aligns with our values! When the Parsons Avenue Redevelopment Corporation (PARC) was created in 2014, it was done with the intent… Continue reading Guest Post: Density on Parsons

N4MN Supports the 'Housing for All' Legislative Package at Columbus City Council As an expression of our support building more housing to accommodate new neighbors throughout Central Ohio. We also recently expressed our support for the housing legislative package proposed by Councilperson Shayla Favor. The package consists of the following components: (1) Source-of-income discrimination protections;… Continue reading N4MN Supports the ‘Housing for All’ Legislative Package

Support more housing at this prime South Side location! The Pizzuti Company proposes to build 256 housing units on the site of the former Giant Eagle on Whittier Street. Once a suburban-style grocery store with a massive parking lot, the site will soon be home to hundreds of new neighbors. Take an opportunity to voice… Continue reading Support more housing at this prime South Side location!

If you don't want new neighbors, then where should people move to? When new residential projects are proposed, many opponents claim there are too many people already, traffic is too bad, school districts can't absorb more children, etc. But we can't deny that Central Ohio is growing. We are growing due to expanding families and… Continue reading If you don’t want new neighbors, then where should people move to?

Decades of Restrictive Zoning Helped Create our Housing Shortage Historically, American cities had realities that created a low quality of life for many residents. Industrial pollution, overcrowding, lack of capital improvements, and substandard housing were some of the most problems that made many neighborhoods unpleasant places to live. In an effort to improve the quality… Continue reading Decades of Restrictive Zoning Helped Create our Housing Shortage

If we care about housing affordability, why do we support market-rate development? Simply put, Neighbors for More Neighbors—Columbus (N4MN) supports building more housing. All types of housing: public, private, subsidized, senior, supportive, condos, apartments, and more. Over time, building more housing—especially smaller housing—will help reduce housing costs, or at least keep them from rising as… Continue reading If we care about housing affordability, why do we support market-rate development?

We support housing for people—not for cars. In a city where more than 5,000 homeless individuals were served by the Community Shelter Board in just one year, building housing for people should take priority over building housing for personal vehicles. When you think about it, aren't garages just little houses for personal vehicles? While they… Continue reading We support housing for people—not for cars.

An introduction to "gentle density" Paraphrased and summarized from a 2019 Brookings Institution Report by Alex Baca, Patrick McAnaney, and Jenny Schuetz. Increasing density isn't always about building high. There's ample untapped land in neighborhoods that can be repurposed for housing, creating unique and better-matched housing opportunities for diverse populations, including aging baby-boomers. Adding units… Continue reading An introduction to “gentle density”

Five Fun Reasons for Having More Neighbors There are so many reasons to want more neighbors in your community. Aside from the potential of meeting the love of your life through a pup-to-pup meet-cute at the park, more people will bring vibrancy and diversity to Central Ohio. 1. You could meet your future spouse. 2.… Continue reading Five Fun Reasons for Having More Neighbors

Old Time Columbus had a lot more neighbors! Are you old enough to remember heading down to Lazarus to see the Christmas display? Or getting lunch at one of more than ten dining options in the store? If you are, then your fond memories reflect a downtown with more than 20,000 people living there! Today,… Continue reading Old Time Columbus had a lot more neighbors!