Providing centrally located places where the community can learn about and
engage in urban design. (page 2 of 2)

The Downtown Design Center in Lexington, Kentucky is located in a downtown storefront. It is a project of the University of Kentucky College of Architecture. The program gives real-world experience to students who use computers to show citizens the impacts of proposed development in a number of cities throughout Kentucky. Its outreach is broad and encourages anyone in the community to get involved in its programs and design efforts.

St. Paul, Minnesota is developing one of the most ambitious regional design centers, Saint Paul on the Mississippi Design Center, based on a computerized "virtual city" model that includes the Vision Plan the city recently adopted. Its citizen outreach program is linked to implementation of the plan and with specific redevelopment initiatives as they occur.

Chattanooga's Riverfront /Downtown Planning and Design Center has been catalytic in positioning that city as a leader in quality of life and sustainability. The Design Center is under the direction of Stroud Watson, a professor of architecture at the University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design.

The Design Center serves as a satellite studio facility for the College, based in Knoxville. Students and the center's staff serve as a resource for the community, providing design guidance and coordination for various development projects along the river and in Chattanooga's downtown. The Center is in Miller Plaza, which is the focus of an early downtown redevelopment project spearheaded by the Center.

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