This article was scraped from Rochester Subway. This is a blog about Rochester history and urbanism has not been published since 2017. The current owners are now publishing link spam which made me want to preserve this history.. The original article was published April 13, 2009 and can be found here.
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being introduced to the Rochester Regional Community Design Center . The RRCDC is a group of design professionals, planners, and citizens who donate their time to the purpose of designing Rochester's public spaces. They offer their design guidance and recommendations to the city through public lectures, design charrettes , and an open-to-the-public design gallery/resource library at their studio on East Main Street. For anyone remotely interested in how cities are planned or issues surrounding urban renewal as they apply to the city of Rochester, the RRCDC is a must-see.
In January 2007, the RRCDC coordinated and facilitated a three-day design charrette for Center City Rochester. Held at Midtown Plaza, 138 local design professionals, along with community leaders and citizens shared their ideas in an unprecedented volunteer-based think-tank. The purpose was: 1) to generate ideas for the development of strategic sites in 5 geographic focus areas in the downtown, 2) to identify guiding principles as a design approach to revitalization of the built environment in the downtown, 3) to create a Center City Vision Plan to help guide future projects in the downtown, 4) to create an environment for economic rejuvenation and sustainable development in the downtown.
During the course of the year following, five design teams and approximately 55 design professionals, worked to refine plans and design schemes for sites in their focus areas. The RRCDC team worked on the overall issues related to items like circulation, connectivity, public realm improvements and green space and assembled a brilliant, comprehensive document entitled, "Rochester, NY, A Vision for the Future" . The report and the drawings it contains will no doubt serve as a basis for the City's strategic plan moving foward.
If a design charrette sounds a little too intense for you, the RRCDC also offers an exciting schedule of lectures, exhibits, and discussions centering on how Rochester can revitalize itself through urban design.
Upcoming Lectures:
The New Green Cities:
A Model for Municipal Stewardship
Mayor George Heartwell & Suzanne Schulz, AICP
Mayor & Director of Planning, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Thursday, April 16, 7:00-9:00 pm
At Salem United Church of Christ, 60 Bittner St. ( map it )
Visit www.rrcdc.org for ticket info.
Neighborhood Revitalization &
the Importance of Transit-Oriented Development
Jacky Grimshaw
Vice President, Policy, Transportation, and Community Development Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago, Illinois
Wednesday, May 13, 7:00-9:00 pm
At Coptic Monastery of St. Shenouda (formerly Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church), 270 W. Main St. ( map it )
Visit www.rrcdc.org for ticket info.
Current Exhibit:
Healthy and Happy Cities: Urban Design with Nature
Exhibit on view now through June 12, 2009
At The Design Gallery @ RRCDC ( map it )
