West Columbus, Ohio

West Columbus, sometimes referred to as "westside", is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Unlike other Columbus neighborhoods, it is a broad geographical term used by locals rather than a subdivision or suburb. West Columbus is defined as the entire southwest side of Columbus, bordered on the north by I-70 and 670, within I-71 on the east, and on the south and west by the city limits that reach several miles to the outside of the I-270 outerbelt. It is covers the ZIP Codes 43223, 43204, 43228, and 43215.

Surrounding Areas Comparison

There are several large, broad neighborhoods in Columbus: West Columbus, South Columbus, East Columbus, the Near East Side, Downtown, North Columbus, The Short North (also known as the Campus Area, because of the Ohio State campus), the Northeast Side, the Southeast Side, and the Northwest Side (Dublin, Upper Arlington, and Hilliard.) Out of all these areas, West Columbus may be the largest, being rivaled with East Columbus and the Northwest Side.

Politics

West Columbus is usually a heated political area, because it is and has been a suffering area. Politicians often elect to center certain speeches and topics in West Columbus, especially when the topics are about the economy, poverty, and crime. These problems were highlighted when the FX television series, 30 Days, chose to do an episode on poverty and living on minimum wage. They thought that this problem related to West Columbus, and so they taped the show in the The Bottoms neighborhood on the westside, which neighbors Franklinton.

Crime

The crime rate in West Columbus has been surging. Out of all the neighborhoods listed in the Surrounding Areas Comparison, West Columbus generally ranks in the Top 3 in all crime categories. Last year, the west side ranked 2nd in Homicides, only behind the Near East Side, and in the Top 3 of all other Violent Crime Categories, in which the Short North was the leader in all. A common theory for the crime on the west side is the poverty that the residents there live in. It is policed by the Columbus Division of Police, Precincts 10, 19, and 8. It is also policed by the Franklin Township Police Department and the Franklin County Sheriff's Department.

Neighborhoods

The following are neighborhoods in West Columbus:
* Briggsdale, Columbus, Ohio
* Hilltop, Columbus, Ohio
* Georgian Heights
* Cherry Creek, Columbus, Ohio
* Franklinton, Columbus, Ohio
* Hardesty Heights, Columbus, Ohio
* Riverbend, Columbus, Ohio
* Murray Hill, Columbus, Ohio
* Westgate, Columbus, Ohio
* Wilshire Heights, Columbus, Ohio

Sources

* J. Testa, The Franklin County Auditor
* The Columbus Dispatch
* The Westside Messenger
* This Week on the West Side
* [http://www.10tv.com/ WBNS]
* [http://www.nbc4i.com/ NBC]
* [http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/]