Nikole and I dropped by Plant Zero Commons around mid-day, and were surprised to see that a dozen or more people had already dropped by to see the Open Design Studio portion of the charrette for Richmond's new Downtown Plan. We chatted for a few moments with Tamara Failor of the National Charrette Institute, as well as Margaret Flippen and Victor Dover from planning firm Dover Kohl; wandered around the basement and checked out all of the maps generated yesterday at the hands-on design portion; and listened in as the design team began transferring all of the ideas onto a main map. Below are some photos and more details on our visit:
Victor Dover and Margaret Flippen (facing the camera) discuss Richmond's Downtown Plan at Plant Zero Commons earlier today.
The design team begins transferring ideas from citizen-generated brainstorming onto a detailed design map (actually, some onion-skin overlay). The map they were discussing when Nikole and I dropped by happened to be the map my table generated. It was all I could do not to jump in and explain some of my team's ideas; Nikole whispered that they were going to start calling me "that pesty guy with the website" if I said anything.
A detail shot of one of the design team members capturing the ideas generated on Saturday onto a main map.
Groups of six to 10 people gathered around tables with maps and markers, and began to envision aspects of a better downtown. The above map (from Table 16) shows how aggressive some groups got in their urban planning daydreams.
This close-up from a map shows the emphasis that many teams put on keeping the James River green and accessible to the public.
"Daylighting" Shockoe Creek and turning the entire valley into a public greenway all the way to the James River was one idea that was both audacious and exciting.
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