The Ohio State University

Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) commits to a focused approach to addressing Ohio’s urban influence and urban-rural connections. OSU faculty, staff, and students collaborate to address the real-life context of Extension work with urban communities. Priorities align with the college, university,  community partners, and the national urban Extension framework.

With 11.8 million residents, Ohio is the seventh most populous state in the nation. More than 50% of Ohio residents live in 10 of the 88 counties. OSU Extension has a presence in all Ohio communities and continues to advance engagement with rural, suburban, and urban Ohioans. Ohio’s largest counties and cities bring opportunities and challenges due to population density (scale), influence of multiple jurisdictions (complexity), Ohio’s rural-urban interface, and the diversity of residents, workforce, community partners, and visitors. Various indicators in the state demonstrate a dynamic flow of people and other resources throughout all geographic areas along the urban and rural continuum. Many Ohioans live in one county, work in another, and enjoy recreation and tourism in other counties. Other flows are studied from several interrelated perspectives, such as land use, commerce, food, water, Internet access, waste, pollution, and the environment.

(Photo: an urban farm in the city of Cleveland)