The Downtown Development Administrator of Columbus, Ms. (Mrs.?) Colleen Gilger, was nice enough to give a very in-depth reply about the peak of our downtown population which is quite interesting:
“The population of the area now defined as Downtown Columbus or the Central Business District (CBD) peaked in 1950 at an estimated 29,845 residents. In 1950, the Downtown population represented 7.9% of the entire city of Columbus population (375,901). The size of the city of Columbus then was slightly less than 40 total square miles with a population density slightly higher than the current population density of Washington D.C. Today, the Columbus population has nearly doubled while nearly quadrupling in geographic size (212.6 square miles). The population density today is about a third of that in 1950.
The suburbanization trend across the country facilitated by annexations by the City of Columbus and construction of several interstates (and subsequent demolition of homes to make room for parking lots and office towers and/or the conversion of homes to offices) were two of the significant factors in the early population decline in Downtown Columbus. While population loss has been steady throughout the past 50 years, the majority of this population loss occurred between 1950 and the mid 1970s, during which time
approximately 20,000 residents left the CBD. From 1980 to 1990, the Census reported an additional loss of 639 housing units and 445 residents to the Downtown. From 1990 to 2000, the Downtown housing market was relatively dormant with an unchanged population base and a slight increase in housing units. In 2000, only 3,488 people called Downtown home.
Mayor Coleman released a 2002 Downtown Business Plan with a goal of the addition of 10,000 units in Downtown Columbus in 10 years. Subsequently, the City of Columbus, Capitol South, the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC), and several corporate and civic organizations enacted several key incentive programs to encourage residential development. These incentives include property tax abatement, utility tap fee credits, street and sidewalk improvement funding, and the Tandem Housing Loan Funds administered by Capitol South and Columbus Downtown Development Corporation.
Since 2000, Downtown Columbus (the CBD only) experienced its first increase in resident population since 1950. Downtown residents increased from 3,488 residents in 2000 to an estimated 4,502 residents in 2006. We estimate that number topped 4,700 in September 2007.”
Who knew?
The office tower comment sums up what I think made downtown what it is. With high density office towers and no decent mass transit, how were all those people going to get to their jobs? Well, we answered that question by leveling the city for parking. Speaking of the interstates surrounding downtown (which I’d like to see torn down and used for urban infill and if rail can fit in, thumbs up) there was an interesting quote regarding German Village before I-70/71 in Columbus Alive:
“Until the 1950s, German Village was connected much more closely with Downtown. But when the 1.5-mile interchange of I-70/I-71 was constructed, the neighborhoods were severed and about one-third of the village was lost.”
The good news is that the tide is turning and that our population is going up and the city is pushing for caps which ODOT should have to fund since they’re the ones who have been tearing our cities apart without abandon. It’s an interesting time to watch the city evolving into an urban place once again.
