Publications
Research that makes an impact
Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) is proud to share “The Benefits of Brownfields for Ohio’s Communities: An Analysis of the Brownfield Remediation Program Over the Past Three Years”. This white paper examines the $659 million awarded between 2022 and 2024 for the Brownfield Remediation Program. The white paper also makes the case for allocating additional dollars to a statewide brownfield grant program in the next state Operating Budget.
The Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) has been advocating for greater investment in Active Transportation for the past several years. This work has involved growing the availability of resources at the state level, as well as working with local communities to raise awareness about the availability of resources at the federal, state, and philanthropic levels. We have also worked to educate communities throughout Ohio by highlighting well-developed active transportation projects and initiatives throughout the state.
Legacy cities and older suburbs often have a difficult time attracting residential developers, even though there is a great need for new housing units. Many historical factors increase development risk beyond what private investors can tolerate, including complicated older sites, low sales prices, antiquated regulations, and lending restrictions.
The guide provides tips for implementing an active transportation project, funding sources communities in Ohio can access, and technical assistance programs at the state and federal levels that can help plan and fund projects. The showcased projects range from modest in scale to complete overhauls of a district streetscape.
The city of Akron, in partnership with GOPC and the Reinvestment Fund, has released the Akron Housing Action Plan and Market Value Analysis. The Action Plan and Market Value Analysis will help city officials and other leaders in Akron spur new housing development, keep long-time residents in their homes, and improve the quality of existing homes for all Akron residents.
Community leaders in Portsmouth have recently released the Portsmouth Housing Action Plan, which focuses on strategies to increase housing options in the city. This Plan is a second phase of work by the Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), which completed a housing market analysis for Portsmouth in 2021.
The Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) has released a white paper Unlocking Opportunity: Ohio’s Brownfield Remediation Fund Awards & The Benefit of Brownfields, which analyzes the full grant awards for the Brownfield Remediation Fund and makes the case for additional funding for environmental clean-up.
Building on Momentum: An Argument for State Investment in Public Transit in Ohio, provides an assessment of both the current status of the state's public transportation infrastructure and capacity. The report focuses on why, given shortages of reliable workers, and a growing number of rural elderly and disabled residents who need transportation options, it is critical for Ohio to continue to maintain and grow the historic investments which have been made in public transportation since 2019.
The Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) has released a multi-year strategic housing plan for Springfield. Quality Housing for All: A Four-Year Strategic Plan for Springfield provides community leaders with a roadmap to address current and future housing needs in Springfield. Community leaders have elevated housing as a communitywide priority.
Leaders in the City of Portsmouth identified housing as an important component of city’s revitalization journey, launching a comprehensive housing analysis as a first step to understand housing conditions across the city. Various community partners engaged the Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) to analyze market rate and affordable housing conditions within the municipality.
Former industrial and manufacturing hubs like Dayton—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.
For over six decades, working Ohioans have paid income taxes to the jurisdiction where they work. Recognizing the unprecedented situation created by the pandemic, the Governor and Legislature established the emergency measure to minimize burdensome paperwork on businesses and moderate the financial impacts of the pandemic on cities.
In two reports, GOPC shows how attempts to repeal the emergency response is short-sighted and will seriously threaten Ohio’s large and small communities, jeopardizing Ohio’s economic competitiveness.
Since 2004, the City of Cleveland has used tax abatements to encourage developers, builders, and homeowners to build and substantially rehabilitate housing in the City. The Cleveland Tax Abatement Study was undertaken to better understand the historic usage of the tax abatement program, the value the program generated for the City, and to recommend potential adjustments to the program.
As a first step to improving housing options, The Champaign Economic Partnership commissioned the GOPC to analyze the market rate and affordable housing markets in Champaign County and its four largest communities: the City of Urbana and the Villages of Mechanicsburg, North Lewisburg, and St. Paris.
