People Places: An Urban Design Legend
by Corporate Communications & Marketing Staff
On May 4, 2016, a Google Doodle recognized the 100th birthday of Jane Jacobs, renowned urban design legend and her influence on urban planning. Jacobs’ approach to planning — rejecting the premise of urban renewal and sterile buildings for welcoming, pedestrian- friendly spaces — spawned a key change in how cities handle growth.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department has embraced Jacobs’ ideals as they design emerging spaces in the community and challenge the community to imagine the possibilities of existing areas. We recently sat with Urban Designer Monica Holmes to discuss how her department is making Charlotte the next great city of people.
How long have you been with the City of Charlotte and what do you do?
I’ve been with the city for a little over a year as an urban designer, helping Charlotte build an urban design program. The goal of the program is to develop better places for all people, whether we’re working on small or large projects. Within our team we’re working on projects as large the citywide place types initiative and as small as a designing neighborhood parks and projects like Can Do Signs.
Is your team building the urban design program from the ground up or fine-tuning an existing plan?
We are re-evaluating the existing program, taking it from a regulatory function of the city — where we’re not just administering the zoning ordinance — to building it into a much bigger program that is able to rethink spaces and places.
What sparked your interest in urban planning?
I went to architecture school and discovered that my passion wasn’t solely about buildings, but rooted in cities, spaces and the impact the two can have in people’s lives. I came into urban design as it’s the intersection of architecture and community building.
Why is it important for the city to be intentional about rethinking how we create or rethink our spaces?
As we evolve in the digital space, the emergence of Pokémon Go is a good example, these spaces and places are where people congregate. These spaces are equal playing fields where people can engage with others from different walks of life. People can hold conversations, celebrate, play in a water fountains and build relationships in public spaces. It’s important to incorporate a human quality to each place. We have to create an experience that isn’t cookie cutter, but offers a real, genuine environment.
Is this the goal of what the city looks to do with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center (CMGC) plaza?
Yes. We started on this journey months ago with the plaza, imagining how the area could be transformed into a space for people and hitting the switch on making government an inviting place through the physical environment.
We’ve learned a lot through the redesign process. For example, more than 7,000 children go to the Mecklenburg County courthouse every year. We have to create space were these kids, and anyone who comes to this area, feel comfortable and welcomed. If the space is comfortable for kids, it’s likely that all age groups will feel welcomed.
How did this idea come about?
Initially we held an innovation lab session where we received feedback and tangible ideas from employees. From those ideas we identified three themes: playground for all, market commons and garden in the city. We held Front Porch Friday as a pilot and watched footage to identify where people congregated. The hot spot was the area surrounding the ping pong tables. People loved the element of play. We decided to really build on that momentum and applied for a Kaboom! Play Everywhere grant to build on the concept.
In a perfect world, how would you transform the CMGC plaza?
I would like to see three things: color, connections and creativity.
There’s not enough color in any of our spaces. We can start with things like colorful benches and swings. I’d also like to better connect the plaza to Third Street. There’s a connection barrier from our plaza, for safety reasons, but we could do a better job of making the plaza accessible from both sides. We should also bring creativity to this space and incorporate what’s special to Charlotte. Whether its rocking chairs or a climbable hornet’s nest, it has to inspire fun in passersby and employees.
Do you often hear from residents about rethinking certain areas in Charlotte?
We hear a lot from residents about places like Uptown and spaces in their own neighborhoods that they want to be places for community gathering. Charlotteans want to be a part of meaningful projects and build something together. We’re working with communities to identify the unique aspects of their existing spaces and using that as a platform to figure out what works for them. The No Barriers project is a perfect example of that.
What city is the success model for urban planning and what are we learning from them?
You can pick out cites for different aspects of urban design. For example, Minneapolis is doing some amazing work with connecting their spaces and empowering their neighborhoods to get involved through their Placemaking Hub. New York is really a pioneer in that area, as they’ve done things like reimagining Times Square through their Plaza Program. Philadelphia has several street art programs that grant artists the opportunity to make infrastructure look cool. These projects inspire their communities.
Share two of your favorite places/spaces in Charlotte that bring people together.
The Rail Trial brings together people in South End while also inspiring pop-ups and placemaking. Projects along the Rail Trail also bring a lot color and fun to the area.
It’s not really considered a public space, but the corner of 36th and Davidson Streets in NoDa is equally special. It has a level of grit to it that is unique to Charlotte. The grit gives the area personality — people love the older buildings and murals. Although it’s an intersection, there’s a wonderful vibe of interesting stuff taking place. People from all walks of life are comfortable there.
