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Thursday, DEC. 13, 2018
COMMUNITY MEETING

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths : Weaknesses : Opportunities : Threats

Participants worked together in two groups to discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing the Hilltop community. The results for the two groups are shown below, along with a combination of the group results.

GROUP B

GROUP A

STRENGTHS

People 

Community

Size

Location

High ground

History

Historic housing

Parks

Trails

Diversity

Affordability

Spiritual life

Mature trees

Library

STRENGTHS

Core residents—family oriented/hardworking—foster this!

Generational dedication to the neighborhood

Latino community (restoring homes—strong family values

Proximity to downtown Columbus---t/- 2 miles

2 viable commercial corridors (Sullivant/Broad)

Good police officers

#10 bus line

Recreation centers/community events

Freeway access

Beautiful historic housing stock    

WEAKNESSES

Perception

Crime

Drugs

Murder

Assault

Theft

No restaurants

Litter/trash

Sewage

Slumlords

Absentee

Run-down

Tenant screening

Eviction protocol

Lack of curb appeal

Infrastructure

No champion

No anchor

Lack of grocery

High % of renters

High commercial vacancy

Lack of pre-k

WEAKNESSES

Lack of convenient parking @ corridor streets

Transient population

Columbus public schools

Gang violence/drugs/human trafficking

Bus frequency on #6/#9/#5 line

Access to healthy food (fresh veg/meat)

Lack of green space between Broad and Sullivant

Lack of neighborhood lighting

Lack of anchor institutions

OPPORTUNITIES

Affordable commercial space

Mixed-income

To form a CDC w/ a champion

Local credit union

Transform perception

OPPORTUNITIES

Provide grants to speed up
renovation of SF homes

Affordable “starter” homes—lots of them

Vacant property

MORPC 2050 Corridor Study

Mixed-income neighborhoods

Increase bus hours/frequency

Post HS skilled trades training

Continued coordination w/ various city depts (CDCs, etc.)

Connection to Grandview (complete Camp Chase)…bus service

Americorp (expand in Hilltop) can housing be linked to this?

Coordinate w/ Kroger regarding bus shuttle (weekly?)

Community engagement (families/kids)

Workforce development/business incubation

IT job placement sponsored thru United Way

Clean up alleys/get cars off streets 

Available services directory

State employers @ ODOT/other state

THREATS

Accepting status quo

Continued loss of retail

Removal of W. Broad parking

Perception of mediocrity

Retail leakage

Vigilantism 

Lack of economic growth due to development of other areas first

Lack of Hilltop area resources

Aging in place

Opioid crisis

Local media (most)

Westland site unused

Cut thru red tape

Transform the “system” 

THREATS

Media coverage of Greater Hilltop (entire west side of Columbus)

Removal of convenience parallel parking on W. Broad

Slumlords

Columbus City Schools

Displacement

Lack of living-wage employment

Perceptions of geography

Recreation centers beginning to charge for activities

Illegal dumping (contractors NOT using their own dumpsters. Filling neighbors’ trash cans)

City policies…

Number of “set-outs” in neighborhood

Concentration of poverty 

Combined and condensed group results

STRENGTHS

People and community

Size

Location, close to downtown

High ground

History

Parks

Trails

Diversity

Affordability

Spiritual life

Mature trees

Library 

Core residents—family oriented/hardworking

Generational dedication to the neighborhood

Latino community

2 viable commercial corridors (Sullivant/Broad)

Good police officers

#10 bus line

Recreation centers/community events

Freeway access

Beautiful historic housing stock 

THREATS

Accepting status quo

Continued loss of retail

Removal of W. Broad parking

Perception of mediocrity

Retail leakage

Vigilantism 

Lack of economic growth due to development of other areas first

Lack of Hilltop area resources

Aging in place

Opioid crisis

Westland site unused

Cut through red tape

Transform the “system” 

Media coverage of Greater Hilltop (entire west side of Columbus)

Removal of convenience parallel parking on W. Broad

Slumlords

Displacement

Lack of living-wage employment

Perceptions of geography

Recreation centers beginning to charge for activities

Illegal dumping (contractors NOT using their own dumpsters. Filling neighbors’ trash cans)

Concentration of poverty 

OPPORTUNITIES

Affordable commercial space

Mixed-income

To form a CDC w/ a champion

Local credit union

Transform perception

Provide grants to speed up
renovation of SF homes

Affordable “starter” homes—lots of them

Vacant property

MORPC 2050 Corridor Study

Increase bus hours/frequency

Post HS skilled trades training

Continued coordination w/ various city depts (CDCs, etc.)

Connection to Grandview (complete Camp Chase)…bus service

Americorp (expand in Hilltop) can housing be linked to this?

Coordinate w/ Kroger regarding bus shuttle (weekly?)

Community engagement (families/kids)

Workforce development/business incubation

IT job placement sponsored thru United Way

Clean up alleys/get cars off streets 

Available services directory

State employers @ ODOT/other state

WEAKNESSES

Sewage

Slumlords

Absentee

Run-down

Tenant screening

Eviction protocol

Lack of curb appeal

Infrastructure

No champion

No anchor

Lack of grocery

High % of renters

High commercial vacancy

Lack of pre-k

Lack of convenient parking @ corridor streets

Transient population

Columbus City Schools

Gang violence/drugs/human trafficking

Bus frequency on #6/#9/#5 line

Access to healthy food (fresh veg/meat)

Lack of green space between Broad and Sullivant

Lack of neighborhood lighting

Lack of anchor institutions

Perception

Crime

Drugs

Murder

Assault

Theft

No restaurants

Litter/trash

CAUSE & EFFECT

EXERCISE

Participants were asked to consider the causes and effects of multiple issues in order to analyze "both sides" of commonly-cited problems in the neighborhood. Only the top three results are shown here, ranked in order of most mentions.

RESULTS

Lots of trash and litter
CAUSES

  1. Lack of community pride

  2. Lack of enforcement

  3. Insufficient trash services

EFFECTS

  1. Negatively effects community pride/image

  2. Health issues

  3. Normalizes littering & increases it

Lack of parking 

  1. Infrastructure doesn't support the # of cars

  2. lack of enforcement for abandoned/broken vehicles

  3. prioritization of through traffic

  1. Discourages visitors/business development

  2. Creates upset/tension among neighbors

  3. Streets are too tight to clean/travel through efficiently

Lack of restaurants/local stores 

  1. Crime

  2. Low-income perception

  3. Poor building stock

  1. Lack of economic growth

  2. Residents must go elsewhere for shopping/entertainment

  3. Lack of community pride

Crime

  1. Lack of economic opportunity

  2. Addiction

  3. Lack of education

  1. Discourages potential/current residents & businesses

  2. Residents feel fearful/unsafe

  3. Prevents economic growth

Speeding

  1. Lack of enforcement

  2.  Apathy/lack of community pride

  3. Prevalence of wide roads/major thoroughfares (people use the Hilltop as a thoroughfare)

  1. Endangers/discourages pedestrians & cyclists

  2. Accidents

  3. Lack of community pride

Vacant Land

  1. Lack of incentives/interest for development after demolition

  2. Abandonment/neglect

  3. n/a

  1. Discourages potential/current residents & businesses

  2. Crime

  3. Litter & trash dumping

Abandoned Houses

  1. Lack of enforcement for landlords

  2. Residents can't afford to maintain homes

  3. Lack of incentives/interest to invest in neighborhood

  1. Crime

  2. Discourages potential/current residents & businesses

  3. Lack of neighborhood pride

Unsafe walking conditions

  1. Infrastructure needs updating--sidewalks, roads, etc.

  2. Crime

  3. Hazardous driving

  1. People walk in the street/grass

  2. Discourages potential visitors/residents/businesses

  3. Social isolation/people avoid walking altogether

Lack of bus shelters

  1. Lack of attention & investment from city/COTA

  2. Infrastructure needs updating

  3. n/a

  1. Uncomfortable condition that discourage bus usage

  2. Limited mobility for those who are dependent on the bus

  3. Makes riders feel inferior

Unsafe biking conditions

  1. Lack of city attention/investment

  2. Hazardous driving

  3. Lack of education for drivers/bikers and outdated infrastructure

  1. Discourages biking

  2. Danger for bikers, drivers, & pedestrians

  3. Increases car dependence and limits mobility

Unsafe wheelchair navigation

  1. Lack of city attention/investment

  2. Unkempt/damaged sidewalks or lack thereof

  3. n/a

  1. Inequity in mobility for the physically disabled

  2. Social isolation

  3. Accidents

Addiction

  1. Lack of economic opportunity

  2. Mental health issues

  3. Addiction running in the family

  1. Crime

  2. Residents feel unsafe

  3. Destroys families/lives and community pride

Infant Mortality

  1. Lack of resources/healthcare access

  2. Addiction

  3. Unhealthy environments

  1. Trauma for mother/family

  2. Health issues

  3. n/a

Sex Work

  1. Addiction

  2. Lack of economic opportunity

  3. Lack of police enforcement

  1. Prevalence makes the Hilltop a destination for those seeking sex workers, creates a cycle

  2. Crime

  3. Destruction of families and lives

Employment for Restored Citizens

  1. Jobs refusing to hire those w/ criminal records

  2. Lack of well-paying job opportunities

  3. Legislation w/ hiring restrictions

  1. Recidivism/unemployment

  2. Lack of income/home ownership

  3. Lack of community pride/engagement

Domestic violence

  1. Mental health/control issues

  2. Unemployment/lack of opportunity

  3. Addiction

  1. Destruction of families/lives

  2. Injury/death

  3. n/a

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