We were fortunate that Lisa Nicholas, a city planner of Ithaca, was able to come to the Rose Cafe and talk to us about city planning and development in Ithaca. She began the session by stating how despite the recent population growth of Tompkins County, Ithaca’s population size has been relatively stagnant. I found this to be somewhat surprising, given that Ithaca’s academic environment seems to make it an ideal place to live. However, she explained to us that the main problem with population growth lies in the costs of housing. Specifically, the limited amount of housing and low vacancy rate inevitably makes housing an expensive aspect of living in Ithaca. Thus, she described how several of the recent construction projects have been targeted towards creating residential spaces.

What I also found surprising were the recent developments in and around the Commons. Recently, the Commons was revamped, and it has already lead to a more vibrant atmosphere in this part of Ithaca. In addition, plans of building a new luxury hotel in this area definitely seems like a cool development. I imagine that the members of the city planning group of Ithaca are attempting to illustrate that despite being known for its incredible academic environment, the city is also a pretty special tourist destination in its own right. Indeed, the natural scenery and beauty of Ithaca is too often forgotten, especially as Cornell students because we have the fortune to experience it with every step on campus.