Capital One Insights Center, Bipartisan Policy Center, and U.S. Conference of Mayors highlight Mayor Daniel Rickenmann’s data-driven approach to expanding housing supply as a blueprint for American cities
COLUMBIA, SC — The City of Columbia has been recognized as a national leader in housing innovation in the latest Mayoral Housing Report released by the Capital One Insights Center in partnership with the Bipartisan Policy Center and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
The report highlights Columbia’s efforts to identify underutilized land and create new opportunities for housing development through innovative, data-driven strategies. Under the leadership of Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, the City has worked with property owners, neighborhood stakeholders, and development partners to transform vacant and underused properties into sites for future housing, helping meet the needs of a growing community while preserving neighborhood character.
“Columbia’s housing shortage is not an issue of land availability; it is an issue of activation. With over 2,000 vacant lots, we have the footprint we need to meet our growth head-on. We are taking a deliberate, data-driven approach to move these underused parcels from being liabilities to becoming the foundation of attainable housing for all income levels. Most importantly, we are grounding this transformation in the people who define our city prioritizing our local employees and our long-term neighbors to ensure that as Columbia grows, the opportunities for stability and ownership remain firmly in the hands of those who call it home,” said Mayor Daniel Rickenmann.
The report highlights examples of innovative local leadership from communities across the country and recognizes Columbia’s efforts as a model for identifying opportunities to increase housing supply through strategic planning and community partnership.
“We know that lasting solutions to the housing crisis are often developed and tested at the local level,” said Shena Ashley, President of the Capital One Insights Center. “Across the country, mayors are advancing innovative approaches that are increasing housing supply and helping more families access affordable housing. Mayor Rickenmann and Columbia’s vacant lot initiative is a great example of this. Capital One is proud to elevate these success stories and create a platform for sharing proven, replicable strategies that can inform efforts in communities nationwide.”
“Housing affordability remains one of the most pressing challenges facing communities across the country, and there is no single solution,” added Dennis Shea, Executive Vice President for Housing at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “This report shows that local leaders are advancing practical, bipartisan approaches to expand supply and lower costs—and that progress doesn’t require waiting for Washington. Those examples offer a roadmap policymakers at every level can learn from and build on.”
“Mayors across the country are on the front lines of the housing affordability challenge and are working every day to deliver real solutions for their residents,” said Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “What this report shows is that when leaders come together across party lines, they can take meaningful steps to expand housing supply and make their communities more affordable.”
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) is a leading technology-based financial services company with $489.1 billion in deposits and $682.9 billion in total assets as of March 31, 2026. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, the company operates as a premier global payments provider and diversified financial institution, delivering a broad suite of products and consumer lifestyle and shopping experiences through its Credit Card, Consumer Banking including its Global Payment Network, and Commercial Banking lines of business. As the only major U.S. bank to migrate entirely to the public cloud, Capital One leverages proprietary data and advanced analytics to democratize financial tools across its primary markets in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
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About the Bipartisan Policy Center
The Bipartisan Policy Center and its advocacy affiliate, BPC Action, demonstrate that impactful results are possible when both parties work together. Operating across the full political spectrum on domestic policy issues, BPC develops solutions that lower the everyday cost of living for families, expand opportunity, and strengthen the economy, while BPC Action works directly with lawmakers to advance those solutions in Congress. For more than 20 years, BPC and BPC Action have consistently achieved results on complex issues, demonstrating that working together across the political spectrum is not only possible but essential.
About the United States Conference of Mayors
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Follow our work on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, Substack, and TikTok.