CLAIRE M. CASON City and Regional Planning Portfolio
CONTACT
Claire Cason (847) 370-0630 cason.claire@gmail.com
EDUCATION
The Ohio State University Bachelor of Science in City and Regional Planning Expected May 2017 | Columbus, Ohio
Minor in Architectural Studies Knowlton School of Architecture Honors Program
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Columbus 2020 Economic Research Intern May 2016-Present | Columbus, Ohio
City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development TIF Administration Intern June-August 2015 | Chicago, Illinois
LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
Alpha Xi Delta Sorority Ritual Chair
January 2014-Present Order
of Omega Greek Honorary VP Chapter Operations and Membership Development
November 2014-Present
Knowlton Ambassador Program
April 2015-Present
ACADEMIC WORK
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Foundations for the Future of Knox County
10 R.O.W. Gallery Exhibition 12 Made in Franklinton
PROFESSIONAL WORK
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City of Chicago
FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF KNOX COUNTY An Economic Development Vision Spring 2016
Received Studio Most Valuable Player award at the Knowlton Awards
Commissioned with the Area Development Foundation of Knox County and under direction of Toby Rittner, Foundations for the Future of Knox County is an Economic Development vision. Knox County is a community northeast of Columbus with beautiful natural character and a tight knit community. By analyzing population, employment, and tax data, trends were discovered that could be of concern for Knox County’s economy. Members of the education, business, industrial, government,
and healthcare communities were interviewed to inform a SWOT analysis. By examining strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, five recommendations were created. These recommendations will grow Knox County’s economy to be more diverse, resilient, and efficient. At the completion of the semester, the Knox County studio presented the Foundations for the Future of Knox County report to a group of community members, representatives, and officials.
ACADEMIC WORK
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COMPARABLE DEMOGRAPHICS
Similar to Knox County, Hancock and Athens Counties have established healthcare and education systems and a comparable total population and median income. For these reasons, Knox County’s demographics can be compared to Athens and Hancock to judge areas of strength and weakness.
HANCOCK COUNTY FOSTORIA 13,441
FINDLAY 41,202
BLUFFTON 4,125
ARLINGTON 1,455
ATHENS COUNTY NELSONVILLE 5,392
ATHENS 23,832
ALBANY 828
COOLVILLE 496
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CLAIRE CASON
KNOX COUNTY
2014 POPULATION BY AGE COHORT
FREDERICKTOWN 2,493 HOWARD 5,617 MOUNT VERNON 16,990
GAMBIER 2,391
CENTERBURG 1,773
EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY (2014)
45%
40%
PERCENTAGE OF WORKFORCE
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
KNOX HANCOCK ATHENS OHIO
5%
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Mount Vernon is home to Knox County’s largest population center with 16,990 residents. Compared to Athens and Hancock, Knox has a smaller percentage in their cities, and a more dispersed population around multiple smaller towns. This gives Knox county a rural character, and a larger percentage of the workforce in Agriculture, Forestry, and Mining. Their largest workforce sector is in Education, Healthcare, and Social Services, followed by Manufacturing. However, the population gains fewer residents in the 25-30 age cohorts at a much smaller rate than comparable counties. This millennial age cohort is crucial for providing skilled labor to emerging industries.
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SWOT ANALYSIS Following interviews with members of the Knox County healthcare, education, business, government, and industrial sectors, responses were condensed to reoccurring strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By playing off of these strengths, working with the weaknesses, taking advantage of the opportunities, and addressing the threats, these five actionable recommendations were created.
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
• Community Investment
• Attraction and Retention
and Involvement
Strategies
• Higher Education
• Relationship Ties
• Good Financial Base
• Real Estate
• Market Proximity and
• Diversity
Industrial Resources
OPPORTUNITIES
SWOT
• Unorganized Participation
• Entrepreneurial Growth • Available Land and Real Estate • Rural Character • Expanding Healthcare Division
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THREATS
in Economic Development • Little Diversity in Industry • Perceptions of Knox County
CLAIRE CASON
ACADEMIC WORK
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RECOMMENDATIONS
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HEALTHCARE HUB
In order to address an aging population and drug use in the area, Knox County can build off of their strong healthcare system to become a healthcare hub. The Area Development Foundation of Knox County (ADF) can lead this growth by marketing the healthcare system and attracting workers and partnerships from the large Columbus healthcare workforce.
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DIRECTION OF DEVELOPMENT
ADF has the potential to become a central force in catalyzing future development efforts. To do this they need to streamline the process of planning, to site acquisition, to financing and implementation. By organizing commercial real estate listings, establishing a port authority, expanding the TIF program, and making financial resources more accessible, developers will be able to work more efficiently.
CLAIRE CASON
3
ESSENCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Reacting to the nearly 10% of home based businesses in Knox County, ADF can provide resources to stabilize and grow these businesses. Opening an economic incubator space, providing resources through the chamber of commerce, and utilizing revolving loan funds or municipal tax credits will allow small businesses to grow. This growth will diversify the economy and make it more resilient to national economic trends.
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LEVERAGING THE LAND
The natural land in Knox County can be a huge advantage for economic growth. With beautiful landscapes and natural beauty, tourism can be utilized to bring in revenue. The existing agricultural economy should be preserved and protected in interest of continuing the coveted rural quality of life. However, in order to allow for these developments, more efficient transportation and greater highways must be created.
ACADEMIC WORK
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COUNTY COLLABORATOR
With marketing and partnerships, ADF can be established as a leader in the county. This involves communicating with and advocating for members’ interests, and promoting quality public schools to decrease large homeschooling numbers. Allowing a tax levy would also increase ADF’s funds to carry out various initiatives. Being transparent about these efforts is crucial to establish trust and credibility for future growth.
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Final document presented to Knox County
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CLAIRE CASON
PRESENTATION
The final product of the studio class was a 60 page document presented to Knox County and available to read on the Area Development Foundation’s website. Following the presentation and discussion with various members of Knox County’s community, the attracted attention and is now being enacted by the Area Development Foundation.
ACADEMIC WORK
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CLAIRE CASON
R.O.W. GALLERY EXHIBITION Knowlton Banvard Spring 2016
Recieved the Knowlton Distinguished Student Work Award
Completed with a small group of undergraduate planning students, the Right of Way (R.O.W.) gallery displays a contrast between well-planned and neglected right of ways. Visitors enter and walk onto a narrow, poorly lit sidewalk strewn with litter, lined with dead grass, and close to cars zooming down the street. After crossing the street, a well-lit, wide sidewalk lined with storefronts and landscaping creates a new experience. By
Poorly-planned, neglected right of way
comparing the dangers of a poorly designed right of way to the enjoyment of a properly planned right of way, visitors could walk through and experience the difference. As the first City and Regional Planning exhibit in Knowlton’s Banvard gallery, it brought attention to this important field and gave City Planning the right of way higher recognition. The gallery was showcased during Columbus’s Safe Routes to School conference.
Well-planned right of way
ACADEMIC WORK
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CLAIRE CASON
MADE IN FRANKLINTON A Public Participation Model Spring 2016
Following intense discussion of participation processes for planners, these techniques were combined to create public participation models for a local startup. This startup, Sprouting Cities, is striving to bring fresh produce to the Franklinton neighborhood through vertical mono-culture farming pods in local lots. However, Franklinton has multiple farming initiatives already active in the community. Combining Collaborative Planning and Charrettes, a process was designed to bring together these initiatives for better branding of Franklinton products and efficiency of working together, not in competition. The process included stakeholder interviews to assess interests and views of various community initiatives. All of these stakeholders will then be brought together for a community involvement seminar to gauge power and interest in the urban farming community. The stakeholders with
highest power and/or interest will form a steering committee. By establishing a steering committee that meets monthly, they will not only foster connections between urban farming initiatives for continued collaboration, but they will create a plan for the “Made in Franklinton” brand. This brand can be put on anything grown at urban farms in Franklinton, and other products produced in Franklinton for the greater Columbus area. The “Made in Franklinton” brand will bring positive attention and to the neighborhood, and increase pride for the residents. The steering committee will work together to create a central voice for the united urban farming community to increase success and efficiency of future urban farming initiatives. This participation model was then presented to a board of local planners and the founder and CEO of Sprouting Cities.
ACADEMIC WORK
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CLAIRE CASON
CITY OF CHICAGO T.I.F. DEPARTMENT Internship Summer 2015
Tax Increment Financing, or T.I.F, is a financing tool used to reallocate existing tax revenues to fund projects in developing areas. By establishing a TIF district, funds can be accrued to pay for various aspects of an existing area or new development. The City of Chicago has one of the largest T.I.F. programs in the nation. With over 160 areas designated as T.I.F. districts, the Chicago T.I.F. department is continuously working to finance projects in these blighted or underutilized areas to increase development and property values. When new governance took over the City of Chicago, priority was placed on making the T.I.F. program more transparent. This was accomplished through five year progress reports that show the life of the T.I.F. five years back and projected five years in the future, in addition to the
existing ten-year reports. Because a five-year report had never been published, the challenge was to create a standard for reports to come that was informative, accurate, and easily comprehendible by the public. Throughout the summer, 15 five-year reports were completed. Through collaboration with different departments, database research, onthe-ground inquiry, and photography, the content for these reports was collected. Data on equalized assessed values, property values, T.I.F. district spending, project locations and types, and future steps for district goals were all necessary to display the the progress of T.I.F. economic development initiatives. They were compiled using Adobe Indesign, Illustrator, and ArcGIS. The five year reports are expected to be published by the City of Chicago’s website.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
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Madison/ Austin T.I.F. District The Madison/Austin T.I.F. is a large and active district that created a well-rounded five-year report. It is a commercial T.I.F. district in the Austin and West Garfield Park neighborhoods. The T.I.F. District was established to foster private investment along community streets. Improvements will prepare sites for new development, facilitate the rehabilitation of anchor retail uses, and help preserve historic buildings.
Madison/Austin T.I.F. Projects 1) Austin High School 2) Legler Branch Library 3) Sidewalk Improvements 4) Street Resurfacing 5) Street Improvements 6) Lighting Improvements 7) Alley Improvements
PROFESSIONAL WORK
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T.I.F.s by the Numbers
The T.I.F. will utilize a minimum of $21 million in public dollars to attract a minimum of $16 million in private investment. Property Tax Revenue Collected contributes to the ammount invested back in the district. The appropriations graph shows that the majority of the $13 million invested in the last five years was spent on Public Infrastructure improvements.
Property Tax Revenue Collected
Street Resurfacing Improvements
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CLAIRE CASON
Total T.I.F. Appropriations by Project Catagory
Lighting Improvements
ACADEMIC WORK
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