CRPD Land Plan: 2023-2028

The 2023-2028 Land Plan is an expansion of the 2019-2024 Land Plan. These guiding plans equip Columbus Recreation and Parks Department (CRPD) with the most up-to-date population and land data to strategically increase parks and recreation opportunities for Columbus residents over the next five years.

• Since 2018, Columbus Recreation and Parks has added:
  • 507.9 acres of Additional Parkland
  • 24 miles of Additional Trails
• Since 2018, the City of Columbus has added:
  • 15,527 Additional Residents

To continue this service to Columbus’ existing and growing population over the next five years, properties known as properties of interest, were identified across Columbus to potentially acquire as parkland.

By potentially adding 2,874 acres of additional parkland, and 180 Miles of trails, CRPD can improve access to parks and trails for more than 100,000 Columbus Residents.

The Land Plan analysis has concluded that additional access would impact every Planning Area, with each improving access close to 70% of residents. This additional parkland and trails are distributed along some of the highest levels of Social Vulnerability in Columbus.

Jump to the results by Planning Area by clicking on this  link  or in the links below:

•  In-Town Planning Area 
•  Central Planning Area 
•  Northeast Planning Area 
•  Northwest Planning Area 
•  Southeast Planning Area 
•  Southwest Planning Area 

The map below shows current 10-minute access to existing parks and trails in the City of Columbus. Currently, 64.8% of Columbus residents are within a 10-minute walk of a park or trail. Conversely, about 35.2% of Columbus residents (326,312) are outside this 10-minute walkshed. The 2023 population estimate for the City of Columbus is 926,824, and is projected to increase to 942,351 residents in 2028 (an increase of 15,527 residents).

Below is a slider version of the map above, showing the impact of these walksheds. Parks are noted with walkshed when they include public access points, excluding public golf courses. Industrial, Utility, and Transportation Land Uses are illustrated in a hatch fill, to denote areas without population.

The map below shows the impact of acquiring all properties of interest as a future park or trail. If all properties of interest were acquired, the percentage of Columbus Residents within a 10-minute walk to a park or trail increases to 73.6%, whereas the percentage of residents outside this walkshed decreases to 26.4% (or 245,049 residents).

The 2023 potential walksheds are consistent with the 2018 Land Plan analysis, though lower in their impact. The 2023 POI and future trails were found to result in a walkshed coverage of 79% of Columbus residents within a 10-minute walk of a park or trail, and about 21% of Columbus residents outside this 10-minute walkshed.

Below is a slider version of the map above. Industrial, Utility, and Transportation Land Uses are illustrated in a hatch fill, to denote areas without population.

The map below shows the impact of partner parks in the 10-minute access to parks and trails. With these additions, the percentage of Columbus Residents within a 10-minute walk to an existing park or trail increases to 73.1%, whereas the percentage of residents outside this walkshed decreases to 26.9% (or 249,529 residents).

For the purposes of this analysis, “partners” are defined as listed below. Access points to these parks and facilities were manually georeferenced using GIS software.

• Franklin County Metro Parks
• Parks in neighboring jurisdictions
• Public schools within the City of Columbus

The 2023 partner impact was found to result in a walkshed coverage of 72.6% of Columbus residents within a 10-minute walk of a park or trail, and about 27.4% of Columbus residents outside this 10-minute walkshed.

Below is a slider version of the map above. Industrial, Utility, and Transportation Land Uses are illustrated in a hatch fill, to denote areas without population.

The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) was created by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) using U.S. Census data to determine the social vulnerability of every census tract. The list below ranks planning areas from least vulnerable to most vulnerable, according to the average SVI of census tracts within their respective boundaries. The SVI ranks each census tract on 15 social factors, including poverty, lack of vehicle access, and crowded housing, and groups them into four related themes: Socioeconomic; Housing Composition and Disability; Minority Status and Language; and Housing and Transportation.

Each planning area is listed below, ranked by most to least vulnerable in the 2023 analysis, using .

• Central Planning Area
  • 2020 Average SVI of 0.67 (Medium-High, highest in 2023)
  • 2018 Average SVI of 0.54 (Medium-High)
• Southeast Planning Area
  • 2020 Average SVI of 0.61 (Medium-High)
  • 2018 Average SVI of 0.63 (Medium-High, highest in 2018)
• Northeast Planning Area
  • 2020 Average SVI of 0.57 (Medium-High)
  • 2018 Average SVI of 0.44 (Low-Medium)
• In-Town Planning Area
  • 2020 Average SVI of 0.56 (Medium-High)
  • 2018 Average SVI of 0.51 (Medium-High)
• Southwest Planning Area
  • 2020 Average SVI of 0.50 (Medium-High)
  • 2018 Average SVI of 0.55 (Medium-High)
• Northwest Planning Area
  • 2020 Average SVI of 0.31 (Low-Medium, lowest in 2023)
  • 2018 Average SVI of 0.21 (Low, lowest in 2018)

To learn more about the 2023-2028 Land Plan, please click  here