Downtown DC Business Improvement District

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PRESENTED BY Downtown DC Business Improvement
District Cy Paumier Urban Design
Consultant 1250 H Street, NW, Washington, DC
20005 T 202-661-7567 F 202-661-7599
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The history of civilized man is, in essence, the
history of cities. For centuries, cities have
represented mankinds highest aspirations and
nurtured its finest achievements. The
concentration, diversity, and complexity of great
cities generate intellectual energy and
prosperity that, in turn, create civilization
architecture and the arts, science, religion,
commerce, and politics.
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After decades of distress and uncertainty, city
centers are reclaiming their prominence as the
focus of business, culture, and entertainment.
The abundance of life, color, variety, and
surprise makes cities the place to go to seek and
discover, to entertain and be entertained, to see
and be seen, to meet, learn, and enjoy.
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• Creating a Vibrant City Center sets forth
  planning and urban design principles and
  strategies centered on two characteristics that
  are key to the success of a city center
• A diverse market. A citys unique character is
  defined by the diversity and concentration of
  complementary uses. These uses generate
  pedestrian activity and a lively social
  environment that, in turn, sustain the mix of
  uses.
• A high-quality place. A visually appealing,
  comfortable, and secure physical environment
  will create confidence, commitment, and
  investment in the community over the long term.
  Changing Values and Attitudes

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Changing Values and Attitudes Although many
cities have experienced decline over the past 50
years, an enormous market exists today for the
well-planned city. This is due to a change in
values and a new appreciation of urban life and
the environment, as well as improved management
and design of the city center.
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• Seven basic principles for successful urban
  regeneration can be extracted from initiatives of
  the past 20 years. These principles are the
  following
• Promote diversity of use.
• Encourage compactness.
• Foster intensity of development.
• Ensure a balance of activities.
• Provide for accessibility.
• Create functional linkages.
• Build a positive identity.

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Each major city center component offices,
retail, housing, cultural and entertainment
facilities, and hotels and conference/convention
centers is important to the vitality of the
city center.
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Streets, walkway paving, buildings, and open
spaces shape the city centers urban design
structure and image as a unique place. Many
other design elements streetlights, paving,
plantings, signs complement this basic
structure and contribute to the quality of the
city center environment. The overall form,
appearance, and arrangement of these diverse
elements must be organized to convey a unified
image, a sense of vitality, and a comfortable and
inviting setting for human activity.
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• There are seven general principles for making a
  city center a successful place. They should guide
  the decisions that shape the city centers
  evolving form and character as a high-quality
  place for people and be used as the basis for
  evaluating each city centers existing assets.
  These principles are
• Create an organizing structure
• Foster a distinctive identity
• Encourage variety and interest
• Ensure visual and functional continuity
• Maximize convenience
• Provide for comfort
• Emphasize high quality

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The city centers public spaces provide
opportunities for human interaction and
enjoyment. When these public gathering places
display a distinctive personality and add to the
vitality of the central area street life, they
are powerful catalysts for private investment
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• Soften and humanize the hard surfaces of the
  urban environment.
• Create settings for casual social interaction,
  civic gatherings, informal recreation, and
  special events.
• Establish elements that articulate the city
  centers physical structure.
• Establish identity-building elements or place
  makers.

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To attract a diverse and concentrated mix of uses
and foster economic interaction among these uses,
the city center must encourage pedestrian
movement through the central core. Consequently,
a key element of revitalization planning is to
establish an attractive system of pedestrian
connections.
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To strengthen the city centers attractiveness as
a market and to support existing and new uses,
strategies should be put into place to allow
efficient access to the center for vehicles and
transit. However, these strategies must reinforce
rather than compromise the pedestrian environment.
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• Visionary Design Planning
• Public Process
• Implementation
• Urban Design Success
• Thank you!
• Cy Paumier
• Urban Design Consultant
• 1250 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005
• T 202-661-7567 F 202-661-7599