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On the Boards
|  | New Projects for Q1 of 2010 include:two urban design projects in Avon, CT; site selection services for Monroe Community College;landscape design services for two new projects, one in CT, one in MA; streetscape Design in Framingham, TOD visualization services for two towns in MA, expert testimony services and facilitation services for a charrette in North Adams.
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Plan Views
from The Cecil Group
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Winter is behind us and spring and summer are here in equal parts. The Cecil Group continues to extend its geographic reach with a new project in Rochester, New York and Principal Steve Cecil has just completed teaching another successful semester at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, ensuring an influx of talented urban planners ready for what looks to be a growing (albeit slowly) economy.
This month we're talking about newer communication methods for community involvement, showcasing our work in Stamford, Connecticut and talking about opportunities to learn from The Cecil Group staff.
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 Creating a Mashup for a Community Workshop
Creating a mashup is a powerful way to convey information in a visual manner. If you're not familiar with the term mashup, simply defined it's the merging of two or more data sources. In this example it's the merging of a map with additional geographic data.
The above mashup was created using Google Earth, but can also be done using Google Maps. Here's how we did it. After locating the city on Google Earth a boundary was drawn to depict the study area, then an overlay, created from a Google SketchUp file, was added, after that was done photos of sites of interest were added. While not pictured above, we also added an overlay of the city's historic district maps and an overlay that included streetscape concept sketches developed by The Cecil Group.
The finished product allowed our team to engage participants in a community workshop in a fun and unique way. Instead of static maps on boards we were able to fly participants through the study area. We could stop at particular locations, get a street view look around the area just as if we were standing on the street together and discuss ideas for improvements. And better yet, it lives as a tool that can be accessed by anyone with a computer and an internet connection, extending the discussion beyond those participants that were able to attend the meeting.
For a how-to guide on creating a mashup in Google Maps click here.
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Public Participation in the New Information Era
Have you been struggling with how to incorporate on-line communication strategies into your community outreach for planning projects? Ted Brovitz, a Senior Urban Planner with The
Cecil Group will be sharing his ideas, along with three other Massachusetts planners, on how communities can take advantage of newer communication methods to increase community involvement in the planning process. The session will be held at the Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors 2010 Annual Conference on Friday, June 4th. For more information or to register visit the MA APA website by clicking here.
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Project Spotlight - Stamford Stillwater Avenue
Transforming a Neighborhood: Implementation Strategy for
the Stillwater Avenue Corridor
The Cecil Group had an exceptional opportunity to focus
our skills of creating plans into reality along the Stillwater Avenue corridor that connects Stamford's
downtown with its urban West Side neighborhood and the growing medical services
complex at Stamford Hospital. The district is densely populated with an array
of different ethnicities and cultures, including Latino residents and
businesses. However, the corridor has been subject to long-term disinvestment
and recurring social problems. Although an array of optimistic revitalization visions and
plans have been framed over the past decade,
there was no clear or coherent strategy for achieving the positive
transformation sought.
The Cecil Group, in close conjunction with our project
partners - Newman Architects from New Haven - crafted a detailed implementation strategy to fulfill the
vision of the community to create an ethnically and economically diverse
neighborhood that offers a high quality of life and a range of affordable
housing options. This initiative was sponsored by the City's housing authority
(Charter Oak Communities) and was guided by a committee of City and
neighborhood stakeholders.
Our approach delved deeply into the economic foundations
of the neighborhood and the community through an innovative computer modeling
tool that The Cecil Group developed for this assignment. With the results we created a parcel-by-parcel,
block-by-block guide for investments needed to re-stabilize the neighborhood. The
economic studies revealed that the underlying economic health of the
neighborhood is far better than initially appears. This method goes beyond traditional income and expenditure statistics
to understand the informal economy that is supporting a surprisingly
robust housing, retail, service and office demand. With this information in
hand, we were able to indicate the exact types and locations of public
investments that are needed to unlock the private market dynamic that will
restore the social and economic vitality of the district. A key insight has been that the existing
population is fairly stable and has adequate economic means to support
expanding businesses and improved housing. However,
public/private/institutional partnerships must be the agent of change,
assembling key parcels and replacing deteriorating buildings with new housing
and buildings geared to the neighborhood needs and reflective of a commitment
to a quality neighborhood environment.
An urban design strategy was crafted and is being
advanced through revised zoning that will provide incentives to create a series
of more dense (4 to 5 story) mixed use structures, continuing a highly
successful initiative being led by the Charter Oak Communities and its coordination with Stamford Hospital. This
strategy has set the groundwork for focused new collaborations among the
hospital, area organizations and city institutions. The planning process helped
pull the key stakeholders together and create the shared strategies that
are now underway.
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Learn from The Cecil Group at GrowSmartRI
Steve Cecil and Ken Buckland, both Principals with The Cecil Group will be joining colleagues at the GrowSmartRI The Power of Place Summit on May 14, 2010. Steve will be a panelist on Tale of Three Cities: Portland, Providence, and New London and Ken will be moderating Building Green to Build Our Economy.
Tale of Three
Cities: Portland, Providence, and New London
Session Description: These
three New England cities, connected spiritually by their history, their access
to the water, their prominence on the Northeast Corridor, and their ongoing
revitalization and transformation, will be the focus of discussion in this
session about renewed interest in living in walkable and sustainable
communities. City planners joined by an urban designer will discuss the story
of the past, where these cities are today and the challenges of the future. How
are we making our cities more livable and vital? How are we taking advantage of
our natural assets and connection to the water? How is the issue of density in
our cities being addressed? How are we encouraging all forms of alternative
transportation? What are we afraid of?
Panelists include:
Steve Durkee, AIA, Principal, Durkee, Brown
Viveiros & Werenfels Architects (Moderator)
Bill Needleman, Senior Planner, City of Portland, ME
Harry Smith, Office of Planning & Development, New London, CT
Bonnie Nickerson, Senior Planner, City of Providence
Steve Cecil, AIA ASLA, Principal, The Cecil Group, Inc.
Building Green to Build Our Economy
Session Description: With the improvement of state and
local codes, green building is advancing both sustainability and
economic goals. This session will review green building programs across
the country and debunk myths behind the perceived cost and complexities
related to implementing green building standards. The session will
outline the "Green Factor," a method using optional design elements to
improve sustainable site design, and then explore the requirements of
the "Green Buildings Act," effective Jan. 1, 2010, and how it pertains
to public and municipal construction projects in Rhode Island. The
panelists will review the changes required to all building types by the
adoption of the new Rhode Island energy conservation code. A case study
of an existing project will serve as an illustration of how a new public
building would proceed incorporating both green building standards and
smart growth principles.
Panelists include:
Kenneth Buckland, AICP, LEED AP, Principal, The Cecil
Group, Inc. (Moderator)
Robert Stein, AICP, Land Use Bureau Chief, Stamford,
Connecticut
Steven Hughes, AIA, LEEP AP, Associate, RGB Corp.
John Leyden, CBO, RI State Building Commissioner, RI
Dept. of Administration
To register or learn more about the summit click here.
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We hope you enjoyed our 5th issue of Plan Views - The Cecil Group's quarterly e-newsletter. Our aim is to provide you with useful information and update you on firm news. Is there other information you'd like to hear from us? Reply to this email and give us your feedback.
Sincerely,
The Cecil Group
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