What would Central Ohio’s future look like with safe, affordable mixed-income neighborhoods as a part of everyday life? How much healthier, stronger and more equitable would our region be?

For the most part, this is now just a dream for many central Ohioans. Our region is experiencing a severe housing shortage because we’ve built an average of only 8,000 housing units per year for more than a decade, while 20,000 units per year were needed to balance supply and demand. This caused the price of housing for both renters and buyers to increase by more than three times the increase in median income for both renters and homebuyers.

At the same time, poverty has grown in suburban areas. Between 2000 and 2013, the suburban areas of the 10-county Columbus metro area had a 113.6% increase in poverty. Lack of affordable housing throughout the metropolitan region creates barriers for workers and job-seekers, and challenges for employers who struggle with workforce shortages.

The housing shortage further exacerbates our region’s racial disparities, with Central Ohio being the second worst of large US metropolitan areas for economic segregation. And aging housing stock creates health challenges such as lead exposure and respiratory illnesses especially for low-income families and communities of color who have fewer choices available to them.

What positive impacts would plentiful mixed-income communities and greater housing affordability have on our region and the health and economic opportunities for all our residents? Join us to learn about the barriers to solving our region’s challenges from a national health-and-housing expert and a panel of passionate Central Ohio leaders as we examine the links connecting housing, health and opportunity, and the will to act that could open the gates to healthier outcomes for all.

Featuring Merisa Bowers, Council President & Member At-Large, Gahanna City Council; Michael B. Coleman, Former Four-Term Mayor, City of Columbus; Dr. Craig Pollack, Katey Ayers Endowed Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Kenneth L. Wright, Mayor & Council Member At-Large, City of Westerville, and with Moderator Darci Congrove, Managing Director, GBQ.