Downtown Public Realm Plan
Downtown Public Realm Plan
Downtown has long been the economic heart of the District – a center of bustling activity and vibrant public spaces filled with people at all hours of the daytime. However, the Covid-19 public health emergency upended how we live and work and brought about significant economic changes to downtowns across the country. Today, we are at an inflection point with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-imagine Downtown’s public parks and streetscapes into vibrant and inclusive community spaces for a range of users. Through a renewed focus on people-centric urban design, we seek to reinvigorate support for retail services and business development, as well as inspire a transformation into a Living Downtown fit for new residents, families and workers alike.
Working closely with local leaders, Business Improvement Districts, government agencies, and public stakeholders, we seek to craft a bold new vision for the future of our Downtown’s public spaces by promoting equitable, inclusive, and sustainable activities and designs. Improved streetscapes and better access to pedestrian amenity space and parks can also facilitate the shift to additional residential units in the downtown core by prioritizing both future residents and existing office workers. Together we can shift the paradigm of an office-centric downtown into a collection of inclusive mixed-use neighborhoods where we mingle with neighbors, allow children to play and grow, and have a front row seat to the vibrant cultural heritage of our city as we return to a thriving Downtown.
This effort is broken up into several stages:
- Existing Conditions Assessment, including a Public Life Study – to understand and catalog the existing strengths and challenges facing the Downtown public realm.
- Vision Framework – to craft a bold new vision for the future of Downtown through input from a range of stakeholders and caretakers that is equitable, inclusive, and sustainable for generations to come.
- Conceptual Project Proposals – to recommend implementation projects both large and small that can help facilitate the transition to a Living Downtown of mixed-use neighborhoods.
What is a Public Life Study?
Public life is about the everyday activities that people naturally take part in when they spend time with each other outside their homes, workplaces, and cars. Public life studies analyze observed human behavior in shared spaces to inform policy, regulations, and public space design.
