Do I Live in a Good Community? Widener University By: Catherine Sheldon Demographics According to the US Census, the current population in Franklin County, OH is 1,310,300 people. The percentage of poverty in Franklin County is at 16%. In Franklin County, the percentage of women is at 51.1%, and the percentage of people over 65 is at 19.6%. Demographic continued • The upper chart demonstrates the most expensive parts of Columbus, with the most expensive in the brown and the least in the light yellow • The lower chart demonstrates the crime rates in Columbus, with the dark blue being the highest crime rates and the light blue the safest parts. • In Ohio, over 50% of citizens hold a bachelors or higher degree, and most of the population identifies as White or African American, with other diverse cultures such as Polish and Somalian. Important Institutions • As of 2015, Nationwide Insurance, The Limited, and Chase Bank are the biggest businesses in Columbus. • The city has one of the nations best zoos, has OSU, and many museums as well as many different sports teams Map of Columbus, OH • Safety • While there is a high crime rate, using the article, Columbus is pretty safe. We have jobs, we have traffic, but we also have many neighborhood watches. While crime rates do go up in Downtown, there are many safe parts of Columbus. Do I live in a Good Community? • Goods and Services • In Columbus, there is a lack of affordable housing, which leads to an increase in the homeless population. However, there are many different options of where to get their goods and services from. Additionally, we do have a COTA bus system, although we do need growth in the transit systems. • Relationships that Bind Citizens Together • Columbus does have a strong sense of community, which is mostly created by the sports that exist, such as the Clippers, Buckeyes, and the NHL Blue Jackets. There is also much philanthropy, which binds the citizens together. Do I live in a Good Community? Cont. Community of Values and Goals Whole Person Perspective Predictability Recognized Place in the Social Structure While different citizens do have values and goals, as a community, there is a lack of community values. Within big cities, this can be a struggle because the population is so large. In Columbus, there are many things that exist for the whole person, such as different festivals, weekly events for different populations, and more. I think Columbus is successful at this. Columbus is highly predictable, and prides itself in the history that exists that allows this predictability to exist. They do have ongoing construction, but on a day to day interaction, it is very predictable. Based on the article, I’m not certain that Columbus maintains this for all citizens. However, for those in different roles in the community, I feel that the place for each person or social class is very clear. Do I live in a Community? Cont. Opportunity • There are many opportunities with in Columbus for growth , not only educationally but also in different job positions in different businesses. In Columbus, our main educational facilities would be Columbus state Community College and the Ohio State University , although we also boast that we have Otterbein University and Capital University as well as Franklin University. our biggest businesses that were previously described are often hiring , which creates even more opportunities in the community . Homogeneity • This is something that Columbus excels at! We are able to embrace the different parts of Columbus, and allow them to showcase what makes them unique, and celebrate these. References • Ohio State University Extension. (n.d.). Seeking the good community [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/1703.html • Columbus, OH REAL ESTATE & DEMOGRAPHIC DATA. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/oh/columbus . • Columbus, Ohio. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Columbus,_Ohio. • (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://ejscreen.epa.gov/mapper/index.html.
