The Columbus Dispatch

New Census numbers show that Ohio is now less than 4% of the total U.S. population, which hasn't been the case since the Census of 1810.

A 2007 agricultural census found 33,762 barns in Ohio, but commentator Alan Miller says that those barns are quickly disappearing, ravaged by neglect or picked apart for salvage. Miller says something must be done to save this heritage.

Building on the urban renaissance of the last decade that saw residential population increase for the first time since 1950, the City of Columbus has set a bold vision for the future with the adoption of the 2010 Downtown Columbus Strategic Plan.

Like Daniel Burnham's famous Chicago plan, a bold plan for Columbus, Ohio has been proposed by the Columbus Downtown Development Corp. The plan, developed by consultant MSI Design, hearkens back to turn-of-the-century city plans that went unrealized.

The city of Dublin, Ohio, is trying to un-eminent domain some land it acquired from a local landowner. The project it had seized the land for has since fallen apart, and the city now wants its $5 million payoff back.

Officials in Reynoldsburg, Ohio are pushing through strict design guidelines with expensive requirements in an attempt to encourage high-end condos over rental apartments.

The main reason people move to the outer suburbs is for larger homes, says a small study conducted by Ohio State University.

Since the Columbus Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) put bike racks on the front of their buses, so many people have forgotten and left their bikes on board that hundreds of bikes are piling up in the lost and found.

25 farmers in Fairfield County, Ohio are attempting to prevent future development by preserving their farmland in permanent agricultural use.

20 years after the Columbus City Center opened its doors, the now nearly abandoned mall is slated to be demolished. The redevelopment agency plans to replace it with a park.

While the goal of these walkable communities is to attract young urban professionals, the benefits, of course, extend beyond that.

Planners are celebrating Columbus's century-old comprehensive plan, and continuing to consult the plan for guidance.

Planners are pushing for a downtown streetcar, but detractors say Columbus already has a fabulous rapid transit system: 'It's called the freeway.'

City commits to adding over 450 miles of new bikeways/lanes linking neighborhoods, parks, downtown, and employment centers over the next 20 years and making an initial investment of $20 million.

If driving less makes prices fall -- will Americans respond by driving more?

Quite a few Ohio suburbs are planning to resurrect their old downtowns -- or build new ones from scratch -- to create human-scaled urban focal points.

With little land left to develop and a declining population in recent years, suburban cities in Ohio are beginning to accept that the only way they can continue to grow is by building up.

Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment, a non-profit development group funded by the endowment fund of The Ohio State University, is learning that its intial ambitious plans to revive the local neighborhood while generating returns for the univ

Columbus, Ohio's New Village Place -- winner of the 2006 James B. Recchie Award for Urban Design -- seamlessly marries market-rate and affordable housing with striking designs that respect the historic character and fabric of the neighborhood.

While downtown advocates encourage lights and signs with animated activity in Columbus' core, complaints have arisen over those flashy signs on suburban arterials.