CNU

Dover-Kohl Projects Win Charter Awards

Two Dover-Kohl projects were recognized with awards by the Congress for the New Urbanism last week at CNU 24 in Detroit:

South Main in Buena Vista, Colorado won a Charter Award for the Neighborhood, District, and Corridor. South Main is a town extension that reconnects the small town of Buena Vista to the Arkansas River. The growing neighborhood maintains public access to the river, creates a high-quality riverfront space, establishes visual and physical connections with Main Street and downtown Buena Vista, and creates a walkable environment through a mixture of uses and a network of pedestrian connections.

Seven50: Southeast Florida Prosperity Plan won a Merit Award for the Region, City, and Town. Seven50 ("seven counties, 50 years") is a blueprint for growing a more prosperous and resilient Southeast Florida during the next 50 years and beyond. The plan works to encourage socially inclusive communities, a vibrant and robust economy, and careful stewardship of the fragile Southeast Florida ecosystem as it quickly becomes one of the world’s most important mega-regions.

Learn more about this year's Charter Award winners

Dover-Kohl Projects Receive CNU Charter Awards

Two projects that Dover-Kohl participated in received Charter Awards from the Congress for the New Urbanism this week.

Plan El Paso was recognized, as Michael Kelly—director of programs for Paso Del Norte Health Foundation—states, for laying “the groundwork for how to create…a healthier city and region.” Unanimously approved by the City Council in March of 2012, the Plan lead by Dover-Kohl identified new capital projects, new land development policies, a focus on Transit Oriented Development (TOD), a new Thoroughfare plan for the entire City and County, and a form-based SmartCode coding for large sections of the City. Within the first three years of the Plan’s adoption, the city built a new baseball stadium downtown, created parks and renovated public spaces, completed future land-use plans based on the SmartCode, and streamlined permitting for developers using the code. 

Code SMTX in San Marcos, Texas may be one of the very least expensive winners of the CNU Charter awards. For one day in June 2014, the City of San Marcos and Dover, Kohl & Partners, joined by The Street Plans Collaborative, helped re-envision downtown utilizing tactical urbanism—yielding low cost/high gain, long-term change. Among several creative elements employed included converting two blocks of street from one-way to two-way traffic using temporary paint; installation of a temporary two-way cycle track; an adjacent block was closed to create a farmer’s market, and creating “pop-up” parks built onto parking areas. This event kicked-off a week-long charrette by Dover, Kohl & Partners to develop a proposed form-based code. The team effectively engaged the city, the public, and transportation engineers. In the end, the City of San Marcos presented a recommendation of changes in full detail, with correct widths for sidewalks, travel lanes, and on-street parking-everything demonstrated, proven, and publicized in the SMTX project, ready for permanent implementation.

To learn more about the 2015 CNU Charter Awards and complete list of winners, visit:


http://bettercities.net/news-opinion/blogs/robert-steuteville/21569/charter-winners-build-healthier-communities-and-economie

Dover-Kohl Projects Receive CNU Charter Awards

Three projects that Dover-Kohl was involved in received Charter Awards from the Congress for the New Urbanism this week.

The Columbia Pike Initiative won the "Best Corridor Plan" Award for its ongoing transformation of a  suburban strip corridor into a multi-story, mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood. Dover Kohl led an intensive public charrette process that resulted in the adoption of a plan and form-based code in 2003. For the first time in 40 years, mixed-use developments were built, sidewalks were widened, and pedestrian-friendly lighting was installed. In 2011 Dover-Kohl led a follow-up charrette focusing on the multi-family residential portions of the corridor with a special focus on affordability. The result is a comprehensive vision that promotes new infill development as part of a walkable, transit-oriented community, while ensuring the continued availability of affordable housing.

The Curridabat Master Plan won the "Best City Plan" Award for a plan that sets the pace for a Latin-American adoption of CNU Charter Principles. Dover-Kohl collaborated with lead firm Castillo Arquitectos to produce a vision for a reimagined city focused on urbanism and walkability, and resulting in the adoption of the first Form-Based Code in Costa Rica.

Jean Lafitte Tomorrow won a "Special Jury Award" for its locally-driven resiliency plan for this low-lying Gulf Coast community. The Dover-Kohl led plan for Jean Lafitte recommends the slow retreat to the heart-of-town by facilitating the voluntary relocation of residents from indefensible, low-lying areas into more compact, walkable, mixed-use communities with enough investment to warrant reinforcement. The plan was adopted unanimously in 2013 and played a key role in getting Jean Lafitte's proposed levee added to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority's Coastal Master Plan.

See the full list of 2014 CNU Charter Award Winners

Dover-Kohl Presenting at CNU22


CNU 22: The Resilient Community is taking place in Buffalo, New York this week from June 4-7 and Dover-Kohl is excited to be a part of it. The annual Congress for the New Urbanism is the leading venue for new urbanist education, collaboration, and networking. CNU members come from around the world to discuss development practices and public policies, learn from recent innovative work, and advance new initiatives to transform our communities.

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