Ohio State’s Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture’s city and regional planning program won the 2006 Excellence in Economic Development Planning award for its work on plans to rebuild the hurricane-ravaged Saucier area of Harrison County, Miss.
The community plan for Saucier, Miss., incorporates suggestions from residents with “principles of new urbranism,” said Amelia Costanzo, graduate student and Saucier planning team member.
Costanzo said one extraordinary feature of the plan is an incubator facility, where a business such as a small bakery could get started, then move into a more permanent storefront after becoming successful.
Residents attended town meetings to voice their opinions and vote on what is important for their own community.
“Some communities are interested in getting back to the way it was before the hurricanes,” program manager Jennifer Evans-Cowley said. “The residents (of Saucier) wanted more economic opportunity and growth in identified areas, reflecting the wants of the community rather than the wants of developers.”
New urbanism integrates the components of a traditional community into a diverse, condensed area that is distinct, stylish and functional. Businesses, schools and offices are all within walking distance. Streets are pedestrian friendly and are tree-lined with hidden parking garages. Homes, apartments and condominiums are mixed in size and price to be affordable to a wide range of people with different backgrounds and incomes. An example of new urbanism that is recognizable to most Central Ohioans, although on a larger scale, is Easton Town Center.
Evans-Cowley said the Saucier Community Improvement Association has already begun to actively implement the plan, which is important.
“National recognition brings attention which brings support,” she said. ” It makes citizens more excited in participating (in the process).”
When asked about the award, Harrison County Director of Zoning Patrick Bonck said he is excited for OSU and Saucier.
Two members of the OSU planning team, Costanzo and Justin Goodwin, will accept the award during the annual American Planning Association conference in San Antonio, Texas April 24. The award comes with a $1,000 prize that the team will use to distribute more printed versions of the plan to residents and for newsletters that will be handed out in the community, Evans-Cowley said.
Graduate students in any major interested in participating in the city and regional planning program, which will be working in two other areas of Harrison County this fall, should apply by May 15. Accepted students will be registered for a 10-credit-hour class and will have the opportunity to visit the area in September and December. Contact Jennifer Evans-Cowely via email at [email protected] for more details.
