Civic Worth is free for verified Ohio newsrooms.
100 paid-equivalent reports a month. The Zone In Decoder. An embeddable widget that links back to your article, not ours. Distribution is the moat — partner publications are how Civic Worth reaches Columbus residents.
One-form application. No fee.
↓ Or grab a copy-paste embed nowWhat's included
- 100 reports per month. Standard tier reports — the full Civic Address Card with every connector, every cited source, every overlay. Resets the 1st of each month.
- Zone In Decoder access. The $29 side-by-side decoder, included. Use it on as many parcels as you cover.
- Embeddable widget.A drop-in iframe for any Civic Worth parcel page or Zone In Decoder. Verified newsrooms can configure the widget to credit their publication in the footer and link back to their own article, not Civic Worth's.
- Watchlist alerts. Add any Columbus parcel to your newsroom watchlist. Weekly digest of 311 reports, council votes, BZA hearings, area-commission agenda items — a tip line that never sleeps.
- Press kit + pre-written copy. /press ships pre-written 200-word summaries for every Phase 1 corridor + three launch angle stories under CC-BY-4.0.
Embeddable widget gallery
Drop any of these into a story in seconds — they're plain <iframe>s, no script tag, no API key. Free for everyone; verified newsrooms can also get a branded version that credits your publication and links back to your article. See how every number is sourced →
Each widget is a drop-in <iframe>. Previews below use 100 Frankfort Sq, German Village — swap the parcel id in the snippet for any Columbus parcel (the id is in every /parcel/… URL). Owner names are never shown in an embed.
Civic Address Card
The full civic record for one parcel: council district, area commission, school district, recent permits, and 311 cases — every line cited.
Zone In — before / after
The parcel's old zoning beside its new Zone In district: permitted uses, height, parking, and density, with a copy-pasteable citation block.
Neighborhood change (displacement tract)
Census-tract income, rent, home value, and owner-occupied share over a decade (ACS 5-year). Observed change — never a prediction.
Eligibility
The verified tier is open to:
- Ohio-registered newsrooms that publish original journalism — Matter News, Columbus Underground, WOSU, Ohio Capital Journal, the Lantern, area commission newsletters, and similar.
- 501(c)(3) organizations with a charitable purpose related to civic engagement, housing, transportation, neighborhood organizing, or community development — Kirwan Institute, CURA at OSU, Smart Columbus, Columbus Foundation, Franklinton Development Association, and similar.
- Independent journalists who publish original Columbus civic reporting under their byline at any of the above outlets.
Civic Worth's verification process checks the applicant's public publishing record and 501(c)(3) status (where applicable). Decisions land within 5 business days.