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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Cool Places to Cool Off
"And perhaps most impactfully, these makeovers are inspiring cities to rethink the role and potential of their public pool systems. When city leaders start to look at public pools not just as places to cool off, but as cool places, nearly anything is possible."
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"Cooling Off" in NYC
Three cheers to the fine folks at NYC Parks for making a splash with their #CoolPoolsNYC initiative at 5 public pools throughout the city! Cool Pools is designed to "increase attendance, improve quality of life, and bring neighbors together to interact with their local community pools --and each other -- in fun new ways" Take a trip to check out one of NYC's 5 cool pool locations this summer!
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Measuring the Impact of Public Space on Neighborhood Well-Being
"The reason monitoring all of these potential outcomes is so interesting is that city infrastructure projects can have any number of consequences, intended or otherwise. They can accelerate real estate values, price out or alienate longtime residents, bring in new businesses, or flood the area with tourists. As cities and their donors have paved (unpaved?) the way for trail systems in Philly, a huge city park in Tulsa, or a floating performance space in New York, serious questions about these implications have followed. This project marks an attempt to put some numbers to those implications. "
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Measuring what matters in the commons
Our baseline metrics reports for the Civic Commons initiative are out in the world! Following up on a first year of data analysis, we'll be going back out this summer and fall to see what impact the first roster of built projects (including Detroit's Ella Fitzgerald Park, HomeBase, and Memphis's Mississippi River Park) are having on their communities.
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Innovation and Evolution in North Texas
Richardson, a first ring suburb in the fast growing Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, has kicked off a Transit-Oriented Development and Innovation District Study to imagine its evolution as technology and the region changes.
Read ArticleNews that’s sure to make you SMILE!
Philadelphia has been named by Amazon as one of 20 finalists for HQ2! Looking forward to the next steps of this process.
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City Commission Approves Downtown InFocus Plan
Some good news - the City of Fargo and the City Commission adopted Fargo InFocus on December 4th, 2017!
Read ArticleA New Plan for Chinatown
“Chinatown is a neighborhood that is constantly changing and adapting in order to survive,” said Sarah Yeung, director of planning for PCDC. “The key is to strike a balanced approach while at the same time not letting go of our values, which is to allow for community self-determination and to create an equitable community.”
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Pittsburgh's EcoInnovation District leaps forward
Citylab featured our EcoInnovation District plan and just this week it was formally adopted by the Planning Commission! Our local partners have already organized a task force to tackle implementation. Next up, a revamped zoning code for the district that will serve as a template for zoning changes city-wide.
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Wilmington Comprehensive Plan gets moving
...and we're off. With a steering committee in place, we've begun our year-long process to create a vision and plan for the future of Wilmington. We're excited to work with Mayor Purzycki, City staff and Wilmington residents and businesses to bring their ideas to life!
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