by Erin Simmons
Program Manager, Center for Communities by Design

The AIA Center for Communities by Design is proud to announce the completion of the 137th Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team visit. Led by Jerry Ernst, FAIA, a team of eight professionals volunteered their time and expertise to provide the town of Pleasant Grove, Utah, with recommendations to help shape the future of the community. The mission of the team was twofold: Help develop a long-range plan for the development of a key gateway area leading into Pleasant Grove and generate suggestions for the revitalization of the waning historic downtown.

Over the course of four intense days, the Pleasant Grove R/UDAT members met with government officials, special interest groups, organizations, and community members to ascertain better the community’s specific needs and wants. The team developed specific recommendations and produced illustrations to bring the vision to life. The visit culminated with a presentation at a public meeting on the night of the fourth day. The team members wrote and illustrated a report that was made available to community members at the public meeting.

Initiated in 1967, the R/UDAT program allows local community members to collaborate with highly skilled professionals who volunteer their time to help communities foster positive change by identifying and confronting the challenges that have proven to be obstacles in the past. Based on the principles of interdisciplinary problem solving, objectivity, and public participation, R/UDATs infuse communities with a new sense of purpose and vision for their future.

Tying past and future together
The R/UDAT team advised the community to reinvest in their historic downtown, restoring the existing historic structures while constructing new, compatible buildings that would invigorate the area with new life and increase the citizen presence and activity. The development of a new civic center, which would include library, office, and cultural facilities downtown, would contribute to the revitalization of the downtown area while providing much-needed community amenities. Additional recommendations included linking the soon-to-be-developed gateway area with the downtown by way of an attractive boulevard and creating a revenue-sharing program to ensure funding for downtown improvements.

Pleasant Grove residents were enthusiastic about the R/UDAT process and eager to begin working with the recommendations made by the team. As Ernst remarked, “The people in Pleasant Grove are wrestling with issues that will shape their community well into the future. It was a privilege to lead an extraordinarily talented team of professionals in articulating a strategy and framework that will enable them to realize their vision. Our experience in Pleasant Grove was a resounding affirmation of the value of this long-standing AIA program.”

With the report and recommendations in hand, Pleasant Grove is now charged with the implementation of the vision developed during the R/UDAT. Members of the team will return to Pleasant Grove within a year to evaluate the progress of the action plan and make additional recommendations to further its successful implementation.

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