GOPC staff members will be sharing their expertise to a variety of audiences at upcoming conferences around Ohio. We hope to see you in attendance! Click on the links below for more information on how to register.
LAST Day to Secure Discounted Room Rate for GOPC Summit!
Today is the FINAL day that the discounted room rate will be available at the Westin for the GOPC Summit, “Restoring Neighborhoods, Strengthening Economies,” to be held June 9th-10th in Downtown Columbus.
The 2-day Summit will feature speakers from both the public and private sectors, including civic, political, philanthropic, non-profit, and business leaders. New strategies for transforming Ohio’s cities and regions and for making Ohio economically competitive in the 21st century will be presented, including cutting-edge tools and practices, effective partnerships, and policy solutions.
The GOPC is proud to announce that Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus will be the lunchtime keynote speaker on the first day of the Summit. There will also be a networking reception with members of the Ohio General Assembly later that day.
Click here to register and make a hotel reservation for the Summit!
GOPC Invites Panel Proposals for its June 2015 Summit on Innovation & Sustainable Growth in Ohio
Deadline for Letters of Interest: November 14, 2014
Restoring Neighborhoods, Strengthening Economies: A Summit on Innovation and Sustainable Growth in Ohio's Cities & Regions, a Summit hosted by the Greater Ohio Policy Center on June 9-10 of 2015 at the Westin Columbus, will explore the links between neighborhood revitalization and regional growth that make economically Ohio competitive in the 21st century.
GOPC welcomes champions of sustainable development from across Ohio to participate in this Summit, creating a dialogue around both policy and practice that will set an agenda for innovation, sustainable growth, and economic prosperity in Ohio.
We invite Letters of Interest describing panels that address the role of innovation and sustainable development in city and regional revitalization and economic growth in Ohio, such as:
- approaches to generating and supporting innovation economies in Ohio’s cities
- strategies for metropolitan and regional sustainable development and economic growth
- practices for vacant and abandoned property reuse and community revitalization
- financial tools for infrastructure improvement
- options and financing for advancing multimodal transportation
- financial tools and partners for strengthening neighborhoods and downtowns
- case studies of ways to address environmental and equitable development issues
- innovative governance tools that advance sustainable development and economic growth
- new cross-sector community and regional solutions for revitalization
Summit sessions will address a wide range of topics essential to sustainable development and economic growth in Ohio, appealing to an audience that includes civic, business, philanthropic, non-profit and political leaders, including bankers, developers, and practitioners. The Summit will highlight cutting-edge strategies and practices, new tools, effective partnerships and policy solutions that are laying the foundation for building sustainable, prosperous, innovative communities and regions in Ohio and beyond.
Format and Process for Letters of Interest
Letters of Interest (up to 500 words) should describe the panel concept and how it will contribute to the Summit. Please include a list of proposed speakers and be prepared to confirm their participation upon panel acceptance.
GOPC will work with selected participants to finalize panel topics and speakers. GOPC will notify all individuals who submit a Letter of Interest with a decision by January 2015.
Contact
Please direct any questions about the Summit or this process to gopcsummit@gmail.com. Letters of Interest should be submitted to the same address by November 14, 2014.
About Greater Ohio Policy Center
Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Columbus and operating statewide, develops and advances policies and practices that value our urban cores and metropolitan regions as economic drivers and preserve Ohio’s open space and farmland. Through education, research, and outreach, GOPC strives to create a political and policy climate receptive to new economic and governmental structures that advance sustainable development and economic growth.
Revitalizing Ohio’s Vacant Properties
We would like to thank all of those who participated in the 2013 Revitalizing Ohio’s Vacant Properties conference! We thought that the summit was a great success, thanks in large part to the cross-sector attendance and relationship-building that occurred over the course of the two days.
The conference speakers and breakout sessions facilitated the exchange of ideas on practices and policies that could be used to leverage vacant properties as opportunities for community revitalization throughout Ohio.
The following links offer materials and highlights from the conference:
Click here to view and download conference presentations
Click here to see highlights from the keynotes and breakout sessions
Click here to see photos from the conference
Click here to join the ongoing discussions in Greater Ohio’s LinkedIn group
EPA Releases New Toolkit for Greener Residential Demolition
EPA Region 5—serving Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin—just released a new toolkit for cities, counties and land banks undertaking large-scale residential demolitions. The report, “On the Road to Reuse: Residential Demolition Bid Specification Development Tool,” includes valuable information on:
- Environmental issues associated with residential demolitions, from pre-planning to demolition to site rehabilitation (e.g., hazardous materials abatement, fill material selection and placement, material recycling or deconstruction).
- Specific practices that can be incorporated into the demolition contracting process to achieve better environmental outcomes.
- Existing regulations and best management practices concerning residential demolitions.
- Bid specification language that instructs contractors on the technical requirements of greener demolition projects.
The purpose of this toolkit is to assist cities, counties, land banks and other entities with the inclusion of greener practices in the demolition bid specification used during the contracting process. The use of environmentally beneficial demolition will result in better site conditions and will better prepare vacant lots for future reuse.
For more details on reclaiming vacant properties, make sure to check out our upcoming conference:
"Revitalizing Ohio's Vacant Properties: Tools & Policies to Transform Communities"
October 22-23, 2013 The Westin Columbus 310 S. High Street Columbus, Ohio, 43215
Attending the American Planning Association National Conference
By John Gardocki, GOPC Undergraduate Intern The APA held its national conference in Chicago this year with the theme of “Planning Big.” The conference was in April and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the conference as a student member of the APA. The planners and speakers were willing to share their unique experiences in all the panels and to discuss the challenges the planning sector commonly faces.
The keynote on the second day of the conference was developed to inspire the next generation of planners to be creative in the design of the American city form. Xavier De Souza Briggs, an associate professor at MIT; gave the keynote, "Inventing the Next American Economy: Why Planning Matters and Where the Pitfalls Lie.” He stressed that all cities are looking to retain and gain jobs; however, the current economics of tax incentives will not entice the technology jobs that sustain the 21st century graduate.
Earl Blumenauer, a U.S. Congressman representing Portland, Oregon, spoke as well about what Congress must do to enhance the planner’s job of sustaining America for generations to come. He is an advocate for the Partnership for Sustainable Communities initiative created by President Obama to unify projects in the Environmental Protection Agency, Housing and Urban Development Department, and the Department of Transportation.
My experience at the conference has inspired me to think creatively about planning since a one-size-fits-all approach does not work in every city that needs revitalization. Chicago is investing in an elevated train railway to become a hotspot of activity, while Cincinnati is investing in its riverfront. Both ideas are specific to the needs of each city.