Featured Articles
Lewiston Wins $30 Million Choice Neighborhood Grant!
We received the FANTASTIC news today that U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant to fund the Growing Our Tree Streets Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan in Downtown Lewiston. We couldn’t be more excited for the Tree Streets community, the City of Lewiston, Healthy Neighborhoods and all the project partners. Congrats to everyone involved!!
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Downtown Challenge Grants awarded to 23 Macon projects
Congratulations to the people of Macon, Georgia, and the 23 winning projects of Downtown Challenge Grants! Each project will push forward the goals of the Macon Action Plan and help implement our recommendations. Some of the winning projects include: a mural by the Macon-Bibb Transit Authority; bike racks, bus stop seating, and lighting from Bike Walk Macon; and roving pop up wildlife events from the Museum of Arts and Sciences. Can't wait to see these awesome programs take shape!
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Harrisonburg’s first-ever downtown master plan in progress
“For the last 20 years, downtown Harrisonburg has seen a tremendous amount of growth and redevelopment,” says Brian Shull, Harrisonburg’s director of economic development. We are excited to get started working on a long-term visioning process that aims to engage residents, visitors and business owners to identify priorities that should guide downtown’s development over the next two decades!
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Lewiston Wins $30 Million Choice Neighborhood Grant!
We received the FANTASTIC news today that U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant to fund the Growing Our Tree Streets Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan in Downtown Lewiston. We couldn’t be more excited for the Tree Streets community, the City of Lewiston, Healthy Neighborhoods and all the project partners. Congrats to everyone involved!!
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Richardson Announces The IQ @ 1302
Congratulations to Richardson, Texas and The University of Texas at Dallas on partnering to create The IQ @ 1302! Based on recommendations from the visioning study we led in 2018, The IQ @ 1302 will feature co-working, research, and lab spaces in addition to the UT Dallas Venture Development Center, which serves as a business incubator for the UT Dallas community. There is also space dedicated to programs, networking, and other events to create a forum for entrepreneurs to connect with one another. Excited to see this come to fruition!
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2020 Year in Review
Interface Studio would like to recognize and celebrate the adaptability and innovation we found in our team, our partners, our clients, and the communities we had the opportunity to work in in 2020. From distancing our community engagement, to crafting COVID-19 economic recovery strategies, to learning how to collaborate from afar, the last year pushed us to experiment and expand our existing skills. Click to read the full blog post.
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Macon Action Plan Refresh Launches!
We are so excited to share that the Macon Action Plan Refresh is here! The first MAP, released in 2017, had 92% of its recommendations implemented before its five-year horizon, which led us to work with the Macon community again to update the plan to make even more progress Downtown Macon, Georgia. The high rate of implementation comes from a combination of realistic, actionable goals, and the opportunity for anyone interested to apply to the Community Foundation of Central Georgia for a grant to make their idea a reality.
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We are thrilled to announce new promotions and recognize the work of those who keep our engine running. Thank you to Ben Bryant, Ashley Di Caro and Stacey Chen for everything you have brought to Interface Studio.
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RESTART, RESET, RETOOL, REFILL: Considerations for downtowns, commercial corridors, and main streets
We are at the end of the beginning. There are going to be closures, vacancies, and job losses across communities. How long and how deep will be a function of how well the next three-to-six months are managed, how that impacts consumer confidence, and whether planners and development officials are ready to respond in meaningful ways. Moreover, the pandemic magnified and amplified glaring, pre-existing disparities in our civic and economic structure. How communities address vacancy, maintain a sense of vibrancy and ensure equitable action is at the heart of today’s challenges. As designers and economists who have worked in urban revitalization for the past 20 years, we propose a framework for downtowns and main streets to consider - RESTART, RESET, RETOOL, REFILL
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Design Downtown St. Louis Open House Goes Online
The public Open House for our Design Downtown STL plan is officially online. Restrictions on public gathering due to COVID-19 forced us to think differently about public engagement. In Downtown St. Louis, the online open house is full of information you’d find at an in-person event. Online activities invite users to help us prioritize ideas and comment on six different goals of the plan.
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Mindy Watts talks big data and thick data at #NPC20atHome
First virtual conference appearance, and nearly 1,600 people tuned in to learn about the importance of contextualizing big data! Thanks for your wisdom, Ninigret Partners, #RebuildPHL, and Reimagining the Civic Commons and thanks for including us, #NPC20atHome American Planning Association.
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