Shaping a Growing City: Lessons from Columbus, Ohio's Transformation

Learn more about how Columbus, Ohio became one of the Midwest’s fastest growing and most dynamic cities.

Columbus is not just growing, it is outpacing peers through affordability, quality of place, job creation, talent attraction, and strategic regional collaboration, making it one of America’s most compelling growth cities.

Its success has not happened by accident. Columbus’s rise reflects long-term planning, strategic public investment, public-private partnerships, bold placemaking, and a willingness to confront complex issues such as housing affordability, mobility, growth management, and neighborhood reinvestment.

Above: From the 2022 Downtown Columbus Strategic Plan

Over the last two decades, a series of strategic plans and targeted investments helped transform Downtown Columbus into a more dynamic mixed-use center with infill neighborhood development, better connectivity, expanded housing options, convention and sports district, and a renewed public realm. The 2022 Downtown Columbus Strategic Plan continued and focused that momentum, positioning downtown as “everyone’s neighborhood” through a emphasis on equity, expanded mobility, retail services, and inclusive growth. The 2022 plan builds on more than a decade of related downtown work, including the 2010 Downtown Columbus Strategic Plan, the Discovery District Placemaking Plan, and implementation-oriented planning for the Scioto Peninsula, the Scioto Mile, the Arena District expansion, and the Creative Campus.

Perhaps nowhere is Columbus’s civic evolution and transformation more visible than along the downtown, along the riverfront, caps over the rebuilt innerbelt. What were once underutilized edges and fragmented corridors have become signature civic assets that connect neighborhoods, attract investment, and improve quality of life. These design and implementation efforts include the Arena District Master Plan, the Scioto Mile and the Scioto Greenways, the Long Street Bridge Cap and Cultural Wall, and the emerging Capital Line. Together, these projects represent public-private partnerships in the design and creation of signature civic spaces that have attracted significant downtown reinvestment, enhanced livability and vitality, and reshaped how people experience the city.

Left to Right: 1.) Scioto Greenways and Bicentennial Park, 2.) Planning and Designing the Arena District, 3.) Arena District and North Bank Park, 4.) Ludlow Alley in the Arena District, 5.) Long Street Bridge and Cultural Wall, 6.) Scioto Greenways Before, 7.) Scioto Greenways After

Growth has also required attention to equity, displacement, and city-wide reinvestment, connectivity, and livability. Community-driven initiatives such as Eastland for Everyone have focused reinvestment in historically underserved areas, while LinkUS transit planning, equitable transit-oriented development (TOD) strategies, and the Zone In Columbus zoning code update are helping align land use, mobility, and housing policy for the next generation.

Left to Right: 1.) Columbus LinkUS Northwest Corridor Mobility Study, 2.) LinkUS TOD Study 3.) Eastland for Everyone Community Plan

At the regional scale, leaders recognized early that growth required coordination beyond city limits. The Central Ohio Regional Housing Study, Finding Home in the Heart of it All, connected housing affordability to health, education, and economic opportunity across a 15-county region. Similarly, the Big Darby Accord created a multi-jurisdictional framework balancing watershed protection, development pressure, and governance across western Franklin County. These efforts illustrate how regional collaboration can help fast-growing areas preserve resources while planning for the future.

Columbus’s story is ultimately one of intentional growth: a city using planning, design, and partnership to turn momentum into lasting public value.

30 years of MKSK Transformational Projects in Downtown and Columbus, Ohio

Helping Shape Columbus: MKSK’s Role in Planning and Design

For decades, MKSK has played a meaningful role in the planning, design, and transformation of Columbus, contributing to many of the initiatives that have helped position the city as one of the Midwest’s most dynamic growth markets.

MKSK has led and contributed to major downtown and regional planning efforts, including the 2010 and 2022 Downtown Columbus Strategic Plan

Central Ohio Regional Housing Study, Big Darby Accord, linking housing supply and affordability to long-term economic competitiveness.

Signature Civic Projects

MKSK has helped deliver some of Columbus’s most recognized public-realm investments, including roles in the Arena District, Scioto Mile, Scioto Greenways, Scioto Peninsula, Scioto Audubon Metro Park, the I-70/71 Innerbelt and Caps projects. These projects have redefined downtown living, enhanced activity and entertainment, expanded recreation, improved riverfront access, reconnected neighborhoods with downtown, and elevated the city’s national profile.

Neighborhood + Corridor Revitalization

Beyond downtown, MKSK has led district, corridor, and neighborhood strategies such as Eastland for Everyone, helping create reinvestment frameworks for historically underserved areas through community-centered planning and catalytic development strategies, Nationwide Boulevard, and the High Street Short North/Ohio State University corridor planning and improvements

Transit + Mobility Innovation

MKSK has supported the engineer- led LinkUS, Capital Line, Scioto Greenways and I-70/71 Caps and Urban Avenues, equitable transit-oriented development strategies, complete streets, and multimodal planning that connect land use, transit, trails, and walkability along Columbus’s major corridors.

Policy + Zoning Modernization

MKSK supported LWC (hot link) in Zone In Columbus phase 1, the city’s major zoning code modernization effort, helping align development regulations with current housing, mobility, transit, and urban design goals.

Lasting Impact

MKSK’s role in Columbus reflects more than isolated projects—it represents long-term partnership in shaping how a growing city evolves. From strategic plans to built outcomes, the firm has helped Columbus become more connected, inclusive, resilient, and vibrant.

About the Author:

Chris Hermann, FAICP, is a MKSK principal and leader in planning and urban development known for helping communities translate vision into implementable strategies that drive long-term growth and public value. With deep experience in downtown revitalization, economic development, land use planning, and public-private collaboration, he has guided complex initiatives that strengthen neighborhoods, attract investment, and improve quality of life. Chris is recognized for combining strategic thinking with practical execution, bringing stakeholders together around clear priorities and measurable outcomes. His leadership style is grounded in collaboration, accountability, and a strong understanding of how cities grow, compete, and evolve.