Is Springfield more culturally aligned with Southwestern or Central Ohio?

[robertbrianbush]

Originally Posted by Doughboy1918

This is something I wondered. Is Springfield geographically and culturally more a part of Central Ohio or Southwestern? Southwestern Ohio overwhelmingly is of course defined by the Cincinnati-Dayton combined urban area, or the Miami Valley. Springfield isn't part of this even though it is directly adjacent, but at the same time it is not included in the Columbus metropolitan area, despite being only 45 minutes from the downtown district of the city.

Personally, I think it has more in common with Central Ohio. For one thing, it had less Appalachian migrants throughout its history than in Dayton and Cincinnati, and Ohio State is much more popular of a university than Miami, Wright State and University of Cincinnati.

A huge percentage of Springfield 's population is of Appalachian heritage...just as much so as Middletown or Dayton.
Springfield is considered part of the Miami Valley and is part of the Dayton TV market. Columbus TV stations are almost never mentioned here.
When going to the mall Springfield residents tend to shop on the Dayton malls.
Springfield and Clark County are greatly influenced by the massive Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton with its over thirty thousand civilian and military employees and it's status as the hub of Air Force research and development. Springfield's own military air base...the Springfield Air National Guard Base...hosts substantial Wright-Patt operations as well...and is generally very closely intertwined with Wright-Patt.
Springfield's cultural makeup is also rapidly changing...it has a growing Hispanic population plus an estimated ten to twelve thousand Haitians have settled here since 2020 (one-third of the babies born in Springfield are now born to Haitian parents), and a large 1200 home development geared partially toward Columbus suburbanites just started construction on the city's eastern edge. Several other new housing developments have also gone in various parts of the city of late.
Also, a large number of Springfield residents work in the factories and massive distribution centers in West Jefferson, which is definitely part of the Columbus metro.
So the ties, both present and historical, lean much more heavily toward Dayton, but it is a very mixed bag.

[robertbrianbush]

Originally Posted by Doughboy1918

It is not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton_metropolitan_area

It's not presently, but historical it has been part of the Dayton metro.
Bear in mind what qualifies an area as being part of or not part of a metro often depends on arcane things like the percentage of workers in one county who commute to work in another county. Clark County is definitely part of the same 'built-up' region as Dayton.

[robertbrianbush]

Originally Posted by Doughboy1918

Elaborate?

Well, one thing is Borrer, a major Columbus developer, the developer of the large Jeffrey Park development in Columbus as well as other large projects there, has commenced construction on a $400 million development on newly annexed land on Springfield's east side that, if built out, will include 1200 homes and 400,000 sf of retail/commercial place. The developer has stated that their motivation for this project is the conviction that with the Columbus metro expected to add at least a million people over the next twenty years to a region already suffering from a housing shortage Springfield can draw in Columbus suburbanites in the same fashion as other cities similarly distant from Columbus, such as Marysville, Delaware, and Newark.
Also, Springfield's new Silfex plant, which has already brought hundreds of good paying new jobs to the city, is expected to be a significant supplier to the new Intel plant being built in Columbus.
A number of Springfield companies are Honda suppliers, including the new Topre stamping plant, a Tier 1 supplier to both Toyota and Honda which alone has brought nearly a thousand jobs to the city. The Yamada auto parts plant in South Charleston, which is in Clark County and heavily staffed by Springfield residents, and like Topre a major plant in it's own right, is also a major Honda supplier.
The massive expansion of industrial jobs in West Jefferson has veen filled to a very significant degree by people from Springfield.

[robertbrianbush]

Originally Posted by midwest1

Springfield is only 20 miles from Wright-Pat AFB. The Dayton areas largest employer.

If Columbus had sprawled to the west and south as much as it has sprawled to the north and east, it might exercise more influence on Springfield, but that isn't the case.

Dayton otoh has grown to the East and SW/S....growing closer to Springfield. The fastest growing area of Metro Dayton is within an easy commute of Springfield .

And Springfield 's own military air base is extremely interesting with Wright-Patt.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by Doughboy1918

It is literally one county west of all that are considered part of Columbus' metro area. Likewise it is one shy northeast of being part of Dayton's.

Lame argument. Boundaries are drawn somewhere. Springfield is in the Dayton-Kettering-Springfield Combined Statistical Area, as it should be.