TACTICAL REVITALIZATION PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN ALBANY NY

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Project Approach, Scope of Work, and Deliverables transportation aspirations of Albany 2030 with the needs of Downtown. The city already has a broad network of bus connections, is located at the intersection of major rail links from Boston and New York, is a local center of biking, and the river itself presents an alternative mode of transit. These factors would suggest that downtown should now capitalize on its already walkable, pleasant environment and encourage citizens and visitors alike to leave their cars at home. We have added Nelson Nygaard to our team to apply their creative parking strategies to the Tactical Plan and to broaden our thinking about transportation and other connections within the Downtown. D) Integrating the Future Convention Center with Downtown The future convention center is both an opportunity and a concern, in that large buildings can be problematic for urban districts. Siting and locating entrances (or the lack of) as well as parking availability and access will determine how well a large structure can integrate with a walkable downtown. We will be thorough in our study of the impact the convention center has on the Downtown. We will determine the most important concerns and hopes of the citizens regarding the convention center, perhaps through prototyping to help them understand the scale of the structure and the palate of opportunities to be found there. We will endeavor to create an understanding of its impact on downtown on days when it is not in use as when an event is being held. We will help to identify the issues that need to be addressed prior to the initiation of design undertake an analysis of additional improvements to the public realm that should be included in the design of the convention center. We will look for interventions that will maximize movement and interaction between patrons of the convention center and other downtown activity generators. We hope this close examination will engender a higher degree of support and excitement from the community. 3. Advancing a Vision Based on Clearly Expressed Goals and Strategies The most critical element of a bold, long-term vision for a community is instilling within it a strong sense of ownership and buy-in from its stakeholders and citizens. This is especially true in downtown efforts, as the creation of public/private partnerships, the use of financial incentives, and the prioritization of certain catalytic projects are often subject to robust community debate. In addition, it is a certainty that over a ten-year planning horizon, market, political, economic, and cultural conditions will change, and both challenges and opportunities will arise that were not originally anticipated. A strong master plan, while specifying detailed implementation actions, must be able to accommodate fluctuations in the marketplace and shifting demographics; in fact, it must assume they will occur. We have found that the development of a strong set of guiding principles is a key element to long-term success; in essence these broad principles provide the community with an overall vision while allowing the implementation entities to deal with the ever-changing details of the market or constituencies at any given point in time. The guiding principles can also provide a clear and concise framework in the review of all proposed subsequent actions in downtown—
Section 2 be they temporary or permanent structures, developed by public, private, non-profit, quasipublic, or a public/private partnership—to ensure that all future activity support and contribute to the vitality of downtown. The Capitalize Albany Plan and its updates outlined guiding principles for economic development citywide and in the downtown, many of which have been realized. The city’s recent comprehensive plan, Albany 2030 also identifies goals and principles that need to be integrated into this planning effort. The team, with stakeholders, the public and the CAC will continue to refine these goals to the specific context of the downtown. Our discovery methods will include opportunities for citizens to tell the stories of their experience of Downtown Albany, giving the planning team data with which they can ratify the guiding principles going forward. 4. Tailoring a Community Process to Achieve Broad Stakeholder Consensus (on Behalf of a Bold Vision) The challenge in master planning involves building a broad consensus around a vision without ending up with the lowest common denominator—something that all acquiesce to rather than being truly inspired by. The key is to aim very high rather than to seek to satisfy each constituency on its own narrow expectations. At NBBJ, we are well versed in guiding the public process so that everyone’s sights are actually higher at the end of the process than at the outset. We intend to build this consensus by bringing the planning process to life, enabling tangible, shorter-term interventions that allow Albany’s public to re-imagine their city, get behind bold ideas, and allow the participants to take ownership of this vision. We see tactical urbanism as a tool, a catalyst for change, which in turn leads towards longer-term, concrete changes in the physical and political fabric of the city. The key elements in our community process strategy are therefore to: 1. Immerse ourselves in the community, identify and listen to a diverse group of ‘action teams’; 2. Challenge and inspire them; 3. Test proposals or interventions through a variety of simulations, installments and interactive exercises; 4. review their success; and to 5. Ultimately steer the delivery of the Tactical Plan to include these and their longer lasting manifestations.
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TACTICAL REVITALIZATION PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN ALBANY NY

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