This past Wednesday, Lisa Nicholas, a senior city planner, shared the developmental history and future expectations for Ithaca, New York. Ithaca’s rental vacancy rate is 0.5%; that’s really, really low. This lack of availability in the city has made Ithaca one of the most expensive places to live. She also talked about Ithaca as an employment hub and the commutes that more than 13,000 employees make everyday from other counties. Nicholas mentioned that Ithacans and researchers alike have expressed interest in compact, mixed-use development, where vertical construction would allow residents to live in apartments and studios on top of stores and restaurants.

I have been at Cornell for three semesters, and I am confident in saying that Ithaca has something special about it. The Commons, for example, is so old-fashioned and community-based- something I was not accustomed to, since I am from suburban Arizona. Svante Myrick, the mayor of Ithaca, dubbed The Commons, “Everybody’s Neighborhood,” and though I am not a ‘townie’, I would attest to this. It’s a gathering place for city residents and commuters alike, and I am glad that Nicholas and other city planners are devoted to making sure Ithaca maintains it’s personality in light of growth and expansion.