When municipalities redevelop neighborhoods, the most successful projects are those that the community themselves invested in. This is demonstrated no better than in Franklinton, a historic portion of Columbus Ohio, where a group of graduate students worked with community members to form redevelopment plans for their neighborhood that reflected their values.

Redevelopment is a critical urban planning tool that allows planners to refurbish, revitalize and even rezone neighborhoods whose economic vitality, occupants, or ability to meet the needs of their residents has diminished. Redevelopment involves a city restructuring neighborhoods, either by taking abandoned properties though eminent domain, rezoning, refurbishing brownfields and new projects. It’s redevelopment when your city knocks down the old ship yards and puts in condos, or when the meatpacking district becomes a mixed use project.

As you could imagine, redevelopment can mean changing the fundamental, or at least traditional, character of a neighborhood. This is why it is so critical for community members to be involved, and why Franklinton’s work is so impressive. The community was able to collaborate with planners to indicate what they wanted- walkability, a preservation of certain historic elements, mixed use design that created infrastructure for jobs near home, an artist friendly community, space for other large community based employers. The planning process employed by Franklinton is a great example of a way to avoid gentrification, where redevelopment renews the neighborhood without pushing residents out.

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Photo by Franklinton Development Association; shows successful marriage of design, art, and new housing.