Greater Ohio Policy Center Statement on the Announcement of the Fully Granted Brownfield Remediation Fund

For Immediate Release
Contact: Jason Warner, Director of Strategic Engagement
614.224.0187 or jwarner@greaterohio.org

Greater Ohio Policy Center Statement on the Announcement of the Fully Granted Brownfield Remediation Fund

 Following an announcement by Governor Mike DeWine on December 16, 2022, Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) released the following statement in reaction to the fully granted Brownfield Remediation Fund (BRF). 
 

"As one of the leading advocates for the investment in brownfield revitalization, Greater Ohio Policy Center is excited to learn that all Brownfield Remediation Fund grants have been announced, and nearly all of Ohio's counties will receive funding to remediate environmentally contaminated sites in their communities" said Jason Warner, Director of Strategic Engagement at Greater Ohio Policy Center. 

"This program, which was oversubscribed due to the overwhelming interest in brownfield remediation, provides nearly $350 million to municipalities and townships, and will leverage millions more funds from the local governments and the private sector to encourage redevelopment," said Warner. 

Last week, Governor DeWine announced the final awards for the Brownfield Remediation Fund, which totaled nearly $350 million for 313 projects in 83 of Ohio's 88 counties. Last week's announcement of $88 million in grants for assessment and cleanup projects follows on $252 million announced in two tranches earlier this year. With these funds, Ohio's communities can assess, remediate, and redevelop blighted brownfields sites into productive, community-responsive end-uses. 

"By seizing the opportunity to remediate the thousands of environmentally contaminated brownfield sites across the state, Ohio now has the potential to generate millions of dollars in additional tax revenue, provide jobs, create new housing options, and unlock new endeavors in economic development," said Aaron Clapper, Senior Manager of Outreach and Projects at Greater Ohio Policy Center. “These former factories, drycleaners, and hospitals that once discouraged investment and created barriers to development, will instead become opportunities for progress and renewal across the state.”

"Thanks to the leadership of Governor DeWine, the Ohio Department of Development, and leading advocates from both parties in the Ohio General Assembly, Ohio has asserted its brownfields leadership role through the state’s significant investment in the Brownfield Remediation Fund," said Warner. “GOPC and brownfield stakeholders across the state are thrilled by the potential of Ohio's brownfields.”

The Brownfield Remediation Fund is a one-time, $350 million grant program created in the 2021 state budget to fund the assessment, clean-up, and redevelopment of brownfield sites across the state of Ohio. Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) has been the leading advocate for dedicated funding for brownfield clean-up since the end of the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF) in 2013.   

The full list of projects receiving grants was made available last week by the Governor's Office, and is available on the Revitalizing Ohio's Brownfields website. 

About the Greater Ohio Policy Center
Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization with a mission to improve Ohio’s communities through smart growth strategies and research. Our vision is a revitalized Ohio. We undertake original research and analysis, develop pragmatic policy recommendations and advocacy strategies, and deploy our convening power to meet the needs of Ohio’s local change-makers. We operate statewide.

GOPC Releases Report analyzing demographic and economic trends; confirms Ohio is a tale of two states: Legacy Places and Columbus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alison Goebel, Executive Director
agoebel@greaterohio.org
office: 614-224-0187

COLUMBUS, Ohio (November 1, 2022) – The Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) has released a report Ohio + Columbus: A Tale of Two States, which analyzes 2020 Census data to identify significant trends in the state of Ohio and make the case for data-driven polices responsive to current trends.

Erica Spaid Patras, the reports lead author said,

"The report confirms demographic and economic trends in Ohio reflect one high-growth metro and city (Columbus) while much of the state exhibits the hallmarks of legacy places characterized by aging populations, marginal population change, and slow income growth."

The analysis highlights a number of startling data points, including:

• Ohio had a population gain of 3% from 2000 to 2020 but when the Columbus metro is removed, the parts of Ohio outside the Columbus area reflect a loss of -1%, or net loss of 100,000 residents

• The state as a whole and cities and metros outside central Ohio experienced significant decreases in people under age 54

• Ohio’s median household income is lower than the national average and has not kept pace with increases nationally in the last two decades

Alison Goebel, GOPC's Executive Director, said:

"With more than 64% of Ohioans living in a legacy city or the metro area anchored by one, state policy makers should think differently about the needs and opportunities of the Columbus area versus other places in Ohio."

GOPC offers tailored policy recommendations for the legacy areas of the state that:

• Protect the Fiscal Health of Ohio’s Cities

• Invest in Existing Places

• Reimage Local Zoning

• Champion Public Transit

• Reduce Risk and Increase Production in Legacy Real Estate Markets

The full report can be accessed on GOPC’s website.

Report Outlines Strategies for Equitable Development in Smaller Legacy Cities.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2021

Contact: Will Jason (415) 475-9554

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Former industrial and manufacturing hubs like Dayton, Ohio, and Gary, Indiana—known as legacy cities—need not choose between economic growth and equity, as growth is most durable when it benefits everyone, according to a new Policy Focus Report and accompanying Policy Brief published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in partnership with the Greater Ohio Policy Center. Legacy cities can promote long-term growth while addressing racial and economic inequities laid bare by COVID-19 using strategies mapped out in Equitably Developing Smaller Legacy Cities: Investing in Residents from South Bend to Worcester. Using case studies of successful initiatives, the report guides practitioners through equitable investment in both physical projects and people.

Legacy cities experienced declining manufacturing economies and population loss in the 20th century, and they are now at various points on a path to revitalization. The report focuses on small to mid-size legacy cities with populations of 30,000 to 200,000 residents. Though they share many characteristics with their larger counterparts, these cities face unique challenges and require tailored approaches to revitalization.

Promising policies and strategies have emerged—as outlined in the 2017 Policy Focus Report Revitalizing America’s Smaller Legacy Cities and in the digital library of the Lincoln Institute’s Legacy Cities Initiative—and some legacy cities have seen populations grow or stabilize. As the new report shows, durable revitalization requires explicit efforts to address stark social and economic inequities.

“Leaders in America’s smaller legacy cities are uniquely positioned to test, refine, and innovate equitable development practices,” authors Erica Spaid Patras, Alison Goebel, and Lindsey Elam of the Greater Ohio Policy Center write in the report. “A robust commitment to equity is a powerful tool that can lead to a brighter future for these communities.”

Drawing on years of experience conducting research, advocacy, and outreach on behalf of Ohio’s 20 legacy cities, the authors begin the report with an explanation of how greater equity can both improve everyone’s access to opportunity and support the economic prospects of cities. For example, by providing better job training for longtime residents, a city can increase disposable income and encourage businesses to hire locally and ultimately stay in the city. Reducing entrenched poverty and increasing citizen engagement can improve a community’s long-term financial health.

The authors outline seven strategies, illustrated with a diverse set of case studies, that can lay the groundwork for a city’s equitable development agenda. Strategies are tailored to the unique challenges of these small to mid-size legacy cities and also draw on their unique opportunities—such as a lack of market pressures that allows leaders more time to get plans right.

“The strategies outlined in Equitably Developing America’s Smaller Legacy Cities will be vital in rebuilding more racially and economically equitable legacy cities,” Akilah Watkins, president and CEO of the Center for Community Progress, said. “Every municipal leader in the country should engage with this guide and be bold in their efforts to revitalize their communities in a post-COVID era.”

The recommendations can be implemented at any time, regardless of a city’s market strength, and include strategies suitable for implementation at the local level by government officials; leaders of nonprofits, foundations, or community development organizations; community outreach staff at hospital systems, universities, or financial institutions; and other practitioners. Some strategies build on existing programs—e.g., integrating racial equity analyses into routine local government decision-making—while others stand alone—e.g., programs that build the leadership pipeline and civic capacity of underrepresented groups. 

“This report demonstrates a keen understanding of legacy cities, and the policy recommendations are robust and easily understandable,” said Jason Segedy, Director of Planning and Urban Development for the city of Akron, Ohio. 

“The strategies address today’s pandemic climate as well as long-standing economic decline,” the authors write. “Most of these strategies are cost-effective and prioritize investing time and human capital to build collaborations rather than just spending on new construction projects.” 

Strategies fall into two categories: 1) those that seek to strengthen relationships and build trust and 2) those that reduce disparities in life outcomes for residents and improve economic prospects citywide. 

Strategies to Build an Equitable Development Ecosystem 

• Build Trust and Repair Strained Relationships: In 2016, planners in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, delivered an apology for past racist policies, including redlining and urban renewal, and their present impacts, which helped lay the groundwork for more equitable programming and community partnerships.

• Build a Layered and Diverse Coalition: A diverse group of transit advocates in Indianapolis undertook a major outreach campaign, which included inclusive coalition-building and effective use of data, to demonstrate the benefits of public transit investment to businesses and community groups, ultimately winning voter approval for a tax to improve the city’s transit system.

• Conduct Strategic Planning and Visioning: Erie, Pennsylvania’s Downtown Development Corporation is a non-profit intermediary responsible for coordinating the funding and implementation of downtown revitalization plans and helping to build Erie’s revitalization capacity.

  Strategies That Reduce Disparities and Increase Civic Capacity

• Utilize Place-Based Investments: The historic renovation of Dayton, Ohio’s downtown Arcade improved the physical quality of downtown and in the process became the shared home for several small business and innovation entities, allowing for better coordination among the groups to eliminate service redundancies and diagnose community needs.

• Cultivate Homegrown Talent: A coalition of business, government, and nonprofits in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, fosters community-based leadership that reflects the diversity of the city through programs that increase the number of residents serving on local boards and engage youth in leadership development. A parent-led coalition focused on ending the school-to-prison pipeline in Gwinnett, Georgia, provides advocacy training and leadership development for parents while also promoting local, state, and national policy changes.

• Anticipate Neighborhood Change and Plan for Stability: In Atlanta, Georgia, a nonprofit organized a philanthropy-funded anti-displacement program to pay for homeowners’ property tax increases in designated areas. During Ohio’s declared COVID-19 state of emergency, the village of Yellow Springs pioneered a novel eviction protection policy, requiring landlords to accept late rent payments so residents could remain in their homes.

• Recalibrate Existing Operations to Better Yield Equity: The city of Springfield, Ohio, adopted compassionate code enforcement strategies to help low- and moderate-income homeowners fix code violations and avoid penalties and the Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, made concrete changes to their internal operations in order to improve measures of equity in the community they serve.

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About the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy 

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Through education, training, publications, and events, we integrate theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide.

About the Greater Ohio Policy Center 

The Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) is a statewide nonprofit organization with a mission to improve Ohio’s communities through smart growth strategies and research. Our vision is a revitalized Ohio. GOPC is highly respected for its data-driven, nonpartisan policy analysis; research expertise; and policy development, and it regularly provides expert analyses to public, private, and nonprofit leaders at the local, state, and national levels.