Charles B. Rice grew up in Early County, Georgia, and moved away to make his fortune. Upon returning, he was struck by the downtrodden state of the county, and undertook a 50-year visioning effort to turn things around. Recognizing the expansive scope of his challenge, he engaged PlaceMakers to facilitate an economic development visioning process characterized by wide community engagement, master planning, a form-based SmartCode customization, and ongoing guidance in how to implement ambitious efforts in a climate of economic disinvestment.
Stories from the Fields > Fitchburg, Wisconsin
Fitchburg, Wisconsin
Fitchburg has the unique advantage of lying between the time-tested urbanity of Madison and the inspiring landscape of the agrarian countryside. Citizens have access to either in a matter of minutes. But what’s missing in its current array of suburban housing and commercial areas is the appeal and practical performance of more compact, walkable neighborhoods. The Fitchburg SmartCode District aims to empower a more complete community with the full range of living, working, and playing environments.
Stories from the Fields > Florence Gardens | Gulfport, MS
Florence Gardens | Gulfport, MS
The Mississippi Renewal Forum was perhaps the largest charrette in history and included urbanists from across the country and around the world. Among them were PlaceMakers Susan Henderson, who led the Architectural Team, Howard Blackson and Geoff Dyer, urban designers, and Scott Doyon and Ben Brown, who ran the charrette’s web operation and kept both displaced residents and national media up to the minute on exactly what was happening.
Stories from the Fields > Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Unlike many — if not most — American cities, Lawrence, Kansas, has a vibrant, intact downtown. The fringes of the city, however, had been under increasing development pressure in recent years, leading local officials to undertake an intense planning and coding process to manage developing sprawl.
They turned to the SmartCode, and PlaceMakers, to create a parallel regulating ordinance where alternate outcomes were possible.
Stories from the Fields > Leander, Texas
Leander, Texas
When Leander, Texas, became the Austin region’s fastest growing municipality, they did what any city would do: They looked to similar and surrounding places for guidance. Unfortunately, what they found was disheartening. Sprawl, it seemed, was the adverse consequence of rapid growth. And they didn’t want it.
So they came to us. And, for the most part, didn’t even have to pay for it.
Stories from the Fields > Leytham | Omaha, Nebraska
Leytham | Omaha, Nebraska
Developer Herb Freeman’s home, a Georgian mansion that sits in the geographic center of his 160 acres, inspired the design for Leytham, a traditional neighborhood development just outside Omaha, Nebraska. Directing all facets, PlaceMakers delivered master planning, regulatory codes, charrette communications, implementation advisory and, after the charrette itself, brand marketing support.
Stories from the Fields > Post Falls, Idaho
Post Falls, Idaho
A commuter suburb of Spokane, Washington, with emerging employment and a growing retiree population, Post Falls, Idaho, had experienced an increasingly common scenario: rapid, unfocused growth, and the public discontent that results. In response, the city engaged PlaceMakers to help foster “sensible growth, real neighborhoods, and vibrant community” through a master regulating plan, sector plan, and form-based code, as well as design assistance on 11 local development projects.
Stories from the Fields > Providence | Calgary, Alberta
Providence | Calgary, Alberta
In 1989, the City of Calgary annexed the area now known as the Providence community. A “dog-leg” of land in the City’s southwest quadrant, it presented unique opportunities for a more sustainable approach to development than the typical automobile-focused expansion of the city.
Stories from the Fields > Ranson, West Virginia
Ranson, West Virginia
Having attracted $6 million in grants and loans from three federal agencies, HUD, EPA and DOT, the city of Ranson, West Virginia, contracted with an international team of consultants for Transect-based planning. With the EPA money, the planning partners designed proposals for re-purposing six brownfield sites for new businesses. HUD funding provided resources for a rezoning approach to guide smarter growth and redevelopment. And the DOT grant enabled the redesign of a key corridor into a connective boulevard and plans for the transformation of historic Charles Washington Hall in Charles Town into a commuter center, strengthening links between regional rail and regional residents.
Stories from the Fields > The Town of Whitehall, Delaware
The Town of Whitehall, Delaware
Whitehall is a traditional neighborhood development on 1,555 acres of undulating landscape overlooking the C&D Canal, with fingers of wetlands providing a unique environment set in traditionally agricultural land. The villages and towns of Whitehall are enabled by right under the New Castle County Hamlet and Village Design, an earlier PlaceMakers project.
