Restoring Prosperity
The Greater Ohio Policy Center Blog
Ohio’s cities have experienced an increase in rental properties over the last decade and many communities have established rental registries and licensing programs in response. Rental property registries and licensing programs are often utilized by municipalities to gather up-to-date information for rental properties and owners, and to ensure properties meet basic standards of habitability.
The City of Springfield has contracted GOPC to assist in the facilitation and creation of a multi-year strategic plan for housing. The strategic plan will address housing of all types, for all residents, in all parts of the city. This strategic housing plan is designed to be actionable, and forward-looking to address the present and future housing needs of residents.
In April, GOPC launched a communitywide survey on ThisIsourField.Com – the city’s online engagement platform to interact with residents. More than 500 participants completed the survey, which included property owners and renters who reside in the City of Springfield.
The results of the survey will assist GOPC in the next step to create actionable recommendations and strategies for community leaders to thoughtfully plan for the current and future housing needs in Springfield. The full results of the survey will be made available on ThisIsOurField.com.
More than half of participants who completed the survey identified they are happy in their current residence; and of those searching for a new home, nearly half indicated they believe they can find it in Springfield. Participants indicated the sense of community, safety, and good location as indicators for quality of neighborhoods in Springfield.
Like many other Legacy City communities in Ohio, housing cost-burden impacts Springfielders. GOPC’s research in the 2019 Comprehensive Housing Analysis identified the cost-burden to owners and renters. The April 2021 provides additional insights to GOPC on the issue of cost-burden, and the health of the market-rate and affordable housing for those who live in Springfield.
This summer, GOPC will facilitate the creation of the multi-year strategic plan for Springfield. These recommendations and strategies will be presented in late summer/early Fall to the community and Commissioners in the City.
Housing has been a top policy priority in Springfield for local leaders – both through policy implementation and in the convening of the Springfield Housing Consortium. The Housing Consortium is a group of leaders from public, private, philanthropic, and financial institutions who are working together to address the housing needs of Springfield’s residents.
The Covid-19 crisis removed an already thin veil obscuring the slim line between housing security and insecurity for many Americans. This dynamic is particularly true for many extremely cost-burdened residents of America’s legacy cities. Rising unemployment, low-wage jobs, and limited new employment opportunities mean that residents who were formerly “just getting by” are now at risk of losing their housing.
