Central Atlanta Progress/City of Atlanta
Imagine Downtown
Atlanta, GA
The most significant physical planning process for Downtown Atlanta since the 1996 Olympics, Imagine Downtown united several smaller plans with new ideas for five important corridors and districts.
Imagine Downtown created a vision for urban development that was built on exciting new projects like the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola. Already a regional destination, Downtown Atlanta has been guided to its evolution as a world-class urban neighborhood by the frameworks contained in Imagine.
Urban Collage/Lord Aeck Sargent, along with collaborators Cooper Carry, had devised several different and innovative public involvement techniques to gain the widest range of opinions. An Internet-based survey that used graphics and targeted questions ran throughout the year-long process, giving access to outlying metro counties interested in Downtown. The Internet was also used to disseminate the results of several ‘Charrette Weeks’, intense three-day workshops allowing residents and stakeholders a direct voice in the physical plans for each Focus Area.
In the short few years since UC/LAS completed the 2004 Imagine Downtown Plan, growth has continued to focus on Downtown Atlanta in the spirit of short commutes, urban living and an overall increased quality of life. Working with Central Atlanta Progress and The City of Atlanta, UC/LAS is taking a fresh look at the changing urban fabric in Downtown and helping to re-prioritize plans for incenting new development, transportation enhancements and improved public spaces.