Architects Demonstrate the Value of Community Design Through New Web Site

by Tiffany L. David, AICP
Project Manager, Outreach, AIA Communities by Design

Summary: The new AIA Center for Communities by Design Web resource demonstrates the expertise architects contribute to community design and promotes the value architects bring to our nation’s cities. This first group of eight award-winning projects resulted in:

• More than $1.1 billion of private and public funding for economic development activities
• More than 10 million square feet of office, retail, and hotel space
• More than 500 miles of park trails.

Intense citizen involvement through public meetings, charrettes, and stakeholder interviews informed all of the plans. The Communities by Design Built Works projects have changed the economic, environmental, and physical landscapes of all of the communities featured here.

Based on the AIA Communities by Design 10 Principles for Livable Communities, Built Works contributors discuss the projects goals and plan implementation process and community impact of their recommendations while sharing the community lessons learned. The Web site will continue to feature and promote projects led by AIA architects that incorporate these principles, have significant citizen involvement, and show a measurable impact on the communities involved.

Current Communities by Design Built Works include:

New York State Canal Recreation Way Plan
Location: Albany, N.Y.
Architect: Beyer Blinder Belle, Architects and Planners LLP
Award: National AIA Award for Regional and Urban Design 1996
Implementation Status: This plan was adopted by New York State, and many projects have been developed as a result over the entire 500-mile length of canal. Some 200 communities have been affected by the follow-up projects initiated by state and local initiatives. New York State’s investments through the Canal Revitalization Program have in turn spurred numerous federal, local government, and private investments. These range from the creation of new marinas, hospitality services, and other recreation-related businesses, to the adaptive reuse of historic canal-related structures and vessels, to the redevelopment of entire urban waterfronts in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and many smaller cities and villages.

East Baltimore Comprehensive Physical Redevelopment Plan
Location: Baltimore
Architect: Urban Design Associates
Award: National AIA Award for Regional and Urban Design 2003
Implementation Status: Baltimore adopted this plan and began development in 2006. The city commissioned Urban Design Associates with funding from local foundations to develop a master plan that will create a Bio-Technical District as well as revitalize the East Baltimore neighborhood. The plan provides 2 million square feet of research facilities as an extension of Johns Hopkins Medical Center and 1,200 new and rehabilitated residential units. The process itself produced an unprecedented consensus among the community, the city, and the hospital.