Good Ideas
Highlighting smart growth in action
One challenge that many legacy cities face is a lack of developers willing to build on the small, infill lots available. Many home builders today often prefer large sites to achieve efficiency of scale, as predevelopment and construction costs decrease with the greater number of homes built in close proximity.
This Active Transportation Plan was catalytic in spurring many new and varied Active Transportation projects and programs throughout the city of Lorain. Today, projects are executed via a collective impact model in partnership with a host of community partners spanning health, education, social services, and housing.
Mansfield, as part of a multi-year economic development campaign, has embarked on an effort to make the Main Street corridor more welcoming and pedestrian friendly. The effort has been led by the public and private sector through a mix of philanthropic grants combined with federal, state, and local funding.
Youngstown’s SMART2 Network is a major infrastructure project that will connect community employers, institutions, and attractions in the city’s downtown. The project includes redesigning streets for pedestrians and cyclists, converting traffic lanes into sidewalks and bike paths, and incorporating emerging technologies through an autonomous shuttle.
Xenia, Ohio is located about 20 miles southeast of Dayton. This city of 25,000 is home to four regional bike trails1 (depicted by the colored lines on the map below). These four trails see 5,500 users per day who spend $16 million in the region each year (Friends of Xenia Station). Until 2017, none of the trails connected through Xenia’s downtown.
Over the past two decades, the City of Bexley, a land-locked community completely surrounded on all sides by the City of Columbus, with three major east/west routes serving as the main artery roads in the city, has invested significantly in cycling and pedestrian infrastructure to make the community safer for road users of all types and modes.
I.D.E.A. Troy is a donor-advised fund organized by the Troy Foundation to promote Inclusion, Diversity and Equity within the city of Troy, a predominantly white community 19 miles north of Dayton. The goal of I.D.E.A. Troy is to work towards racial equity by sponsoring engaging community events that provide opportunities to learn about non-white American history.
The City of Columbus constructed the city’s first protected bike lane in more than 30 years on a major arterial roadway connecting the University District with the downtown business district. The project, stalled for many years, was revived when a planned resurfacing project by the state DOT renewed interest in the corridor.
