ANNUAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR 2017
JULY 1, 2016 - JUNE 30, 2017
THINK • DESIGN • CREATE • SUSTAIN
OUR MISSION NASHVILLE CIVIC DESIGN CENTER IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION WHOSE MISSION IS TO ELEVATE THE QUALITY OF NASHVILLE’S BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND TO PROMOTE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE CREATION OF A MORE BEAUTIFUL AND FUNCTIONAL CITY FOR ALL.
The Plan of Nashville: Avenues to a Great City was Nashville’s first real, community-based vision for a future that included amazing and forward- thinking ideas at the time like; environmental sustainability, redeveloping the Cumberland River, complete streets and walkability, an effective transportation system, a comprehensive greenway and parks network, a strong downtown economy, diverse housing options, integrated public art, vibrant neighborhood centers, and a focus on the public realm and spaces that celebrate civic buildings and view corridors. All of these ideas came from The Plan of Nashville and serve as Ten Principles that guide our organization today.
FROM NASHVILLE CIVIC DESIGN CENTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GARY GASTON The Nashville Civic Design Center (NCDC) is pleased to present an overview of our organization’s activities, programs, publications and financial vitality for the 2017 Fiscal Year (July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017). The past twelve months has been filled with excitement and growth for NCDC, as we work to help shape a collective vision for the city of Nashville. Our mission, to improve the built environment of communities and promote public participation, is more critical than ever. The launch of our Shaping the Healthy Community: The Nashville Plan book in April 2016 was a monumental accomplishment for the organization and has led to significant positive follow-up projects and recognition for the Civic Design Center. Some of the highlights include: •
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Received one of seven Health Impact Project grants from the Pew Charitable Trusts and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, focusing on health disparities in seven southern states. This grant will help further implement our work in advancing public healththrough the built environment and design. Awarded the “Excellence in Public Health Award” by the Metropolitan Planning Organization for Shaping the Healthy Community. Received the American Planning Association’s Plan4Health Grant – one of 28 recipients nationally, to promote best practices for public health across the state of Tennessee; Received a Congress for New Urbanism Charter Award for “Envision Broadway” Park(ing) Day installation (in partnership with Metro Nashville Planning Department); Received KABOOM Foundation’s “Play Along the Way” national grant for “Soundbox” proposal to transform a shipping container into a play space; Hosted authors and acclaimed speakers Paul Goldberger and Janette Sadik-Kahn as at two of our largest public events ever, with over 500 attendees each; Launched a partnership with Mars Petcare and its Better Cities for Pets initiative to begin envisioning the ways in which cities can adapt urban design and planning policies to meet the growing demands of pet ownership.
Again, we deeply appreciate your consistent support, participation and commitment to making Nashville and our region a better place for all. We look forward to your participation and engagement in the coming year ahead.
Gary Gaston Executive Director, Nashville Civic Design Center Lecturer, University of Tennessee College of Architecture + Design
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FY2017 HIGHLIGHTS & ACHIEVEMENTS JULY 2016 3st of the Month event sponsored by Center 615 raises over $3,000 in support of Nashville Civic Design Center. The official kick-off to PARK(ing) Day 2016 planning, Skyline Social was held at Neuhoff. Over 150 attendees came to claim their space, learn about next steps and share their creative ideas for PARK(ing) Day 2016 held in September.
AUGUST PechaKucha Night Open Call! Over 120 attendees came to hear presentations by 12 diverse topics including; Nashville’s food, art, esoteric and design scene. TURBO takes on Tomato Art Fest 2016 with its first large-footprint tactical urbanism installation. Activities included; painting, aerialists, games, cross-walk painting and more. The Future of Parks series kicks off with former New York City Parks Director, Adrian Benepe’s presentation on “Creating a Vibrant Park System.” Series in partnership with Metro Parks and Tennessee Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects.
SEPTEMBER Nashville Business Journal’s annual Boom! Issue features NCDC’s Executive Director, Gary Gaston, and his thoughts on the future of Nashville. PARK(ing) Day 2016 is held on Friday, September 16th in downtown Nashville, the Gulch, East Nashville, West Nashville, Germantown, Vanderbilt and Hillsboro Pike areas. The event hosts over 70 parklets by local businesses, nonprofit organizations and citizens. The Golden Cone Awards—the official awards ceremony for PARK(ing) Day, hosted very special guest, Blaine Merker, the founder of PARK(ing) Day. Over 20 awards were given out and a very golden time was had by all!
OCTOBER The second in NCDC’s “Future of Parks” series in partnership with Metro Parks welcomed Thomas Woltz, of Nelson Byrd Woltz and architect of Centennial Park’s renovation. CityThink on “Nashville’s Next Era of Great Parks,” featured presentations by Metro Parks and spurred the conversation about the future of parks in Nashville, Metro Parks upcoming Master Plan findings and elicited the public’s thoughts on parks overall. NCDC conducts a Public Space/Public Life Survey in partnership with Gehl Studios and City of Nashville to study lower Broadway and downtown’s pedestrian traffic volume and partners. NCDC participated in the second-annual “Open Streets Festival” held in Nashville’s 12 South area. TURBO provided an example of parklets and tactical urbanism installations and partnered with Walk Bike Nashville to advocate for safer, more open streets.
NOVEMBER NCDC’s Annual Luncheon was the biggest ever, with over 500 attendees coming to hear “Why Design Matters” from award-winning architecture critic, Paul Goldberger. PechaKucha Night theme, “It’s not Easy Being Green,” held at ONEC1TY explored rich topics around sustainability such as American Chestnut Trees, food forests, and more.
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DECEMBER NCDC hosted its annual Holiday Open House where over 200 attendees celebrated the season and an incredible year with NCDC over 2016. An Urban Design Forum, the third and final installment of “The Future of Parks” featuring Peter Harnik, “Creating a Park System Like No Other.” TURBO helped support Green Hills Action Partnership’s “Jolly Trolly” project— working to encourage offsite parking with shuttles for holiday shoppers.
JANUARY 2017 Staff were fully engaged in planning 2017 calendar year in consultation with NCDC’s Board of Directors.
FEBRUARY The first PechaKucha Night of 2017 was an homage to Nashville Fashion. Eleven presenters expounded on the past, present and future of fashion in Nashville. Young Urbanist Hard-Hat Tour of the 212 5th Avenue North building downtown where in just a few months, you’d find some of the best restaurants, retail, and office spaces in downtown Nashville.
MARCH CityThink Nashville featured considering Nashville as a“FIT” City? With Don Kinter of Trevecca University. NCDC began an Urban Design Forum series, “Shaping the Healthy Community: Nashville Neighborhoods.” This first one focused on the Wedgewood-Houston area. Mars Petcare and NCDC launched the first showing of its “Urban Dog Park of the Future” at SXSW in Austin, TX. The installation was named one of the top 5 things to do/see at SXSW 2017.
APRIL NCDC hosted its first-ever Spring Breakfast featuring former NYC Transportation Director, Janette Sadik-Khan at the Music City Center. Over 550 attendees came to find out what they can do to bring the “Street Fight” to Nashville.
MAY May’s Urban Design Forum was conducted in partnership with the National CoHousing Conference being held for the first time in Nashville. The nation’s leading experts on the Co-Housing movement presented to an enthusiastic crowd of local, regional and national guests.
JUNE The official kickoff to PARK(ing) Day 2017 Skyline Social was held on the rooftoop of the new 1201 Demonbreun building. Mars Petcare, Nashville Civic Design Center, City of Franklin, Downtown Franklin Association, Heritage Foundation and more officially launched the Better Cities for Pets “Pets Welcome” program in Franklin, TN with a two-day event that brought out over 4,000 people, 2,000 dogs and one lamb!
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INITIATIVES OVERVIEW NCDC’s mission is accomplished through five broad initiatives that are at the foundation of all the work we do. They are: The Plan of Nashville, Shaping Healthy Communities, Moving Tennessee Forward, Reclaiming Public Space, and Design Your Neighborhood. These initiatives are comprised of projects, programs, events, community engagement, classes, research, reports, publications, exhibitions, and partnerships.
THE PLAN OF NASHVILLE The first major publication by NCDC, written in 2005, The Plan of Nashville: Avenues to a Great City, represented a community-based vision that respects the cultural history, natural landscape and built legacy while envisioning the future of Nashville. The book outlines Ten Principles to assist in guiding public policy, developmental practices, urban planning and design from which NCDC continues to operate today. “TPON” is the first Nashville-focused effort to consider the central city in its entirety, develop a community-based vision and clearly identify core design principles.
SHAPING THE HEALTHY COMMUNITY This core initiative found its roots in NCDC’s latest book published in 2016, Shaping the Healthy Community: The Nashville Plan by Vanderbilt Press. This initiative focuses on the relationships between the built environment and public health. NCDC quickly realized that this book had the potential for impacts far beyond Nashville; and a need for a strong focus on neighborhood implementation and the inclusion of pets in creating healthy communities for all. Thus, implementation began in FY17 through projects including; The Pew Charitable Trusts funded, “Healthy Impact Project,” NCDC Neighborhood Assessment toolkits, and Better Cities for Pets projects with Mars Petcare.
MOVING TENNESSEE FORWARD In 2011, NCDC realized that transit was clearly becoming an issue that would require research and careful consideration in Nashville’s future. Thus, NCDC embarked on its second major publication, Moving Tennessee Forward: Models for Connecting Communities. Within this book, NCDC analyzed national trends, policies, land use planning and urban design efforts. The resulting work focused on the design elements used throughout Nashville and looks at potential new developments, infrastructure and transportation options to implement in the future.
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RECLAIMING PUBLIC SPACE The Reclaiming Public Space (RPS) initiative encompasses NCDC’s work to improve the quality of life for all through the built environment by expanding the diversity, safety, mobility/ accessibility and beauty of public spaces in our city. As public space evermore connects us to our city and each other, creating vibrant and engaging spaces becomes critical work of your NCDC. Thus, NCDC engaged in more studies around RPS and further expanded its Tactical URBanism Organizers group (TURBO) in 2017 to include more projects. NCDC’s sixth-annual participation in the international PARK(ing) Day event is another key project within this initiative that brings community participation, promotion and public awareness to the possibilities of enhancing public space.
DESIGN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD NCDC’s educational initiative is our first significant step into educational programming for youth, “Design Your Neighborhood.” What began as a summer program for high school students in 2011, began in 2016 to evolve into yearround curriculum building for expansion into school-year planning, winter sessions and more. The mission of Design Your Neighborhood is to educate the next generation of informed citizens in how the world is built around them and inspire them to use their voices for improvements and change. Students and community members develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills through the context of urban design and civic engagement. Through these sessions and coursework, students learn skills that will help them plan the future of their communities now and for generations to come.
FOUNDING PARTNER: UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE KNOXVILLE DESIGN STUDIOS NCDC maintains a strong partnership with University of Tennessee Knoxville’s College of Architecture and Design (UTK CoAD). Through this relationship, NCDC coordinates various studies and events throughout the year that allows architecture students to study real-world projects in Nashville from which major project publications are printed. As part of this collaborative effort, NCDC partners with UTK CoAD professors TK Davis and others to create many special learning opportunities and conceptual projects that often result in reallife developments.
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THE PLAN OF NASHVILLE The Plan of Nashville: Avenues to a Great City was Nashville Civic Design Center’s first major publication and still serves as the guiding force and principles of our organization today. The Plan of Nashville (TPON) was a 2 ½ year project to develop a community-based vision with design principles for metropolitan Nashville’s urban core. During the visioning process of TPON, consensus emerged regarding ten principles to help guide public policy, developmental practice, planning and design. The Plan of Nashville is considered the first effort to consider the central city in its entirety while making community-based vision core to the resulting design principles and strategies. In FY17, Nashville Civic Design Center’s work around The Plan of Nashville initiative centered largely around programs and events, an updated look and poster design for The Ten Principles. Programs and events included; Urban Design Forums, CityThinks, PechaKucha Nights, Members Only Tours, a Design Field Trip to Cincinnati, Ohio and Columbus, Indiana and presentations by NCDC staff.
CITIES ARE MADE AND NOT BORN. A METROPOLIS OR TOWN DOESN’T GROW SPONTANEOUSLY, LIKE WEEDS IN A LAWN. A CITY IS A WILLED ARTIFACT, EMBODYING THE EVOLVING INTENT OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN IT AS THEY REACT TO SPECIFIC CONDITIONS: GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATE AND TECHNOLOGY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND ECONOMICS, HISTORY AND POLITICS. The Plan of Nashville
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Ten Principles of 1
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Develop an economically viable downtown district as the heart of the region.
Provide for a comprehensive, interconnected greenway and park system.
Develop a convenient and efficient transportation infrastructure. 8
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Reestablish the streets as the principal public space of community and connectivity.
Treat the Cumberland River as central to Nashville's identity - an asset to be treasured and enjoyed.
Respect Nashville's natural and built environment. 4
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Integrate public art into the design of the city, its buildings, public works and parks.
Raise the quality of the public realm with civic structures and spaces.
Strengthen the unique identity of neighborhoods.
The Plan of Nashville is a community-based vision plan of how Nashville should look and function in the twenty-first century. The Plan's Ten Principles serve to guide public policy, urban planning, and design practices to improve the quality of life for citizens and visitors alike.
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Infuse visual order into the city by strengthening sightlines to and from civic landmarks and natural features.
Founded in 2000, the Nashville Civic Design Center is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to elevate the quality of Nashville's built environment and to promote public participation in the creation of a more beautiful and functional city for all.
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SHAPING THE HEALTHY COMMUNITY In April 2016, Nashville Civic Design Center released an expanded vision for the city entitled, Shaping the Healthy Community: The Nashville Plan. The publication focuses upon the entirety of Davidson County and reflects all of the different community types that we have to offer as a city. From our least developed natural areas, rural farmlands, suburban neighborhoods, urban centers, to high-density urban downtown core – this book provides a plan for improving the health for all of Nashville and communities everywhere. NCDC was proud to partner with Vanderbilt University Press and Creative Services, Metro Public Health, numerous contributors, and co-author, Christine Kreyling to publish the book. NEIGHBORHOOD ASSESSMENT TOOLKIT After launching Shaping the Healthy Community: The Nashville Plan in April of 2016, immediate public feedback included an oft-heard phrase, “How can I bring this to my community?” A plan for creating a tool that neighborhood associations and other direct-impact community groups could utilize to assess their area for health-promoting factors was developed. Further, a companion was designed to assess projects on a “design scorecard” that would help evaluate new ideas and development. The Neighborhood Assessment Toolkit work began in FY17. In December 2016, NCDC introduced the Neighborhood Assessment Toolkit (NAT). The intent of NAT is to provide neighborhoods and developers with a guide that includes tools and resources needed to assess neighborhoods, outline priorities, and score potential incoming development utilizing 10 Principles of The Plan of Nashville. By instilling and affirming participatory and community-based design, NCDC desires to promote neighborhood engagement in the development process, while shaping healthy and more livable communities. After a successful pilot phase with the Historic Germantown Neighborhood, NAT was brought to organizational partners and Metro departments. The NAT has since been integrated into the work of the Neighborhoods Resource Center, Silver Pointe Realty, and the Barnes Affordable Housing Fund’s innovation workshops. Funding for the Toolkit has been provided by HCA. ACTIVE BUILDING GUIDELINES In December 2016, NCDC partnered with the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) and Tennessee Chapter of the American Planning Association (TAPA) in representing
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Tennessee as one of 28 state recipients of the American Planning Association’s Planners4Health grant. The third phase of APA’s Plan4Health initiative, these innovative funds were awarded to support capacity-building and initiatives that promote public health goals; while integrating health into “non-traditional” sectors. NCDC, TDH, and TAPA have been collectively working to pursue this health integration, particularly by identifying gaps in healthy infrastructure resources while moving to institutionalize health and city planning practices across Tennessee. This resulted in: build out of TDH’s Healthy Places website; 60 health-promoting infrastructure case studies; a Healthy Development financial ROI Toolkit; Healthy Transect Design info sheets; design renderings for New Salem AME Church’s McKenzie park in Salemtown; and the on-boarding of TDH’s seven new Healthy Development Coordinators, who act as health and planning liaisons across the state. Thanks to the state and federal attention of this grant, NCDC has been given new opportunities to engage with health professionals and organizations across the state, while representing Tennessee’s health and planning efforts around the country. Plan4Health is further supported by the Center for Disease Control. HEALTH IMPACT PROJECT In 2016, Nashville Civic Design Center was the recipient of a Health Impact Project grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation based on Shaping the Healthy Community: The Nashville Plan. The grant award funded taking the methodology we used in creating our healthy communities approach in Nashville to two other counties in Tennessee. In FY17, we focused on Scott County—a rural county in East Tennessee and Madison, a suburban county in West Tennessee. The grant outcomes aim to put implementation work behind key tenets and findings of Shaping the Healthy Community: The Nashville Plan, develop action plans to tackle the health needs of the community and pilot ways to improve health disparities in the south overall. NCDC worked with partners to make recommendations on strategies to improve health in communities through infrastructure and the built environment such as; green spaces, walk and bike-abilty projects and neighborhood design. In Scott County, NCDC will continue its work by introducing our Desgin Your Neighborhood curriculum with students in high school to explore the connections between infrastructure and health, and conduct neighborhood health assessments during the fall of 2017. In Madison, NCDC will continue its work by facilitating community meetings and collaborating with local leadership to develop plans and principles to move the needle towards an increase in health-promoting factors and strategies.
THE GROUP PROJECT OPENED MY EYES TO THINGS THAT I WAS LITERALLY BLIND TO. I DID NOT PAY ATTENTION TO HOW MUCH PARTS OF MADISON COUNTY NEEDED ATTENTION. I HAD NOT NOTICED ALL THE ABANDONED BUILDINGS, SHORTAGE ON ACTUAL BUS STOPS (NOT JUST SIGNS), AND THE LACK OF UPKEEP ON THE STREETS. PARTICIPATING IN THIS GROUP PROJECT MADE ME LOOK AT MY COUNTY CLOSER. I HAVE HAD SO MANY IDEAS FOR WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN IN MY COUNTY. I AM VERY PROUD TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE A PART OF THIS ASSIGNMENT. IT SPIKED SO MANY INTERESTS AND IDEAS. IT MAKES ME NOT TAKE SO MANY THINGS FOR GRANTED. Karess Spencer Student participant SHC: Jackson Group Community Assessment Project
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BETTER CITIES FOR PETS In FY17, NCDC developed a partnership with Mars Petcare to test key components of a new program known as Better Cities for Pets. Mars Petcare had vast amounts of science and data regarding the profound impact of pets on personal and public health. NCDC set out to begin combining these findings with our Shaping the Healthy Community research, Nashville’s current and future deleopment strategies, and elements of NCDC’s Reclaiming Public Space initiative. In FY17, pilot projects included: the design, build and installations of new ideas around Urban Dog Parks; assessing pet-friendly amenities in Nashville’s downtown core; launching a new “Pets Welcome” program in Franklin, TN; support of Mayor Barry’s Coalition for Animal Welfare; and more.
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MOVING TENNESSEE FORWARD NCDC’s FY17 Moving Tennessee Forward initiative included a focus on Access and Livability with projects and publications as outcomes, including: Transit-Oriented Development in the Franklin Corridor and The Missing Middle: Retrofitting the Centers and Corridors of Nashville. ACCESS & LIVABILITY: TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT IN THE FRANKLIN CORRIDOR This publication focused on opportunities to study the growing demand for transit options, coupled with the need for affordable living that can accommodate a wide variety of demographics. The development of mass transit is most successful when its linked with development of areas for mixed-income living and working. This study focuses on one of most highly desired corridors of opportunity for rapid transit: Downtown Nashville to nearby Franklin, TN. Whether the mode is light rail or dedicated bus rapid transit, the need for frequent, high-level service patterns throughout the day is clearly evident. ACCESS & LIVABILTY: THE MISSING MIDDLE: RETROFITTING THE CENTERS AND CORRIDORS OF NASHVILLE In this second FY17 publication focusing on issues of access and livability, attention turned to what is known as “the missing middle.” The Missing Middle housing type includes duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, bungalow courts, townhouses, live/work and courtyard apartments. In addition to providing more options for affordability, these housing types fit into the growing demand for walkable, urban living. As little “Missing Middle” housing currently exists in Nashville, the transition areas from centers to neighborhoods provide an excellent opportunity for these typologies. These housing types will locate people more closely to key amenities such as transit lines and shopping, can be built at lower prices than taller buildings and often provide structured parking as well. THE JOLLY TROLLY In December 2016, in coordination with Green Hills Action Partnership and Hill Center Green Hills, NCDC provided consultation and volunteers for a new initiative to ease holiday shopping congestion in and around popular shopping district, Green Hills. Participants were asked to park remotely wherein a “Jolly Trolley” shuttle service ran continuously through five of the densest retail areas during the busy holiday season.
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RECLAIMING PUBLIC SPACE Reclaiming Public Space an initiative designed to raise the quality and expand the diversity of public spaces. Global design consensus holds that the best public spaces foster community, elevate quality of life, connect us to our city and each other. Components of NCDC’s work in support of reclaiming public space in Nashville includes: TURBO (Tactical URBanism Organizers group); parklet initiatives (including PARK(ing) Day Nashville event); forward-thinking publications, work with Metro Nashville; and Gehl Studios on the “Envision Broadway” project. With Reclaiming Public Space, Nashville citizens and local leaders have tools to inspire and guide them in new ways of civic investment that supports and connects all citizens. TURBO NCDC’s Tactical URBanism Organizers (TURBO) members serve as volunteers seeking to actively improve public space. We use tactical urbanism methods, small scale and temporary changes to the built environment, which will ideally inspire and evolve into permanent change across the city. Examples of TURBO Nashville’s FY17 work include: Activating a “triangle triage” and public event space at Tomato Art Festival in East Nashville attended by over 120,000 people; installation of a temporary traffic circle in a high-speed zone of a neighborhood to test and learn; temporary cross-walk builds in several areas of Nashville; participation in Open Streets Festival; and more. TURBO TRAFFIC CIRCLE NCDC’s TURBO group was approached by members of Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood association with concerns about high speed traffic at the intersection of 15th Avenue and Elmwood Avenue. TURBO’s idea was to test a temporary solution that encouraged traffic calming and created a twoweek traffic circle that was tested for measurable outcomes and community feedback. “EDGY BROADWAY” GEHL WORK Nashville Civic Design Center first engaged with Gehl Studios through PARK(ing) Day initiatives and co-sponsored an Urban Design Forum. In 2016, Metro Nashville began to more seriously consider improvements and enhancements to its busiest areas on Broadway due to pedesterian, safety and traffic concerns. Gehl Studios had been involved with studies and innovative ideas around these issues in its work with New York City’s Time Square area. A partnership was formed and NCDC became a lead partner in helping to study, pilot and gain public feedback on proposed solutions for the area. NCDC assisted in facilitating a Public Space/Public Life study
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over two weeks in fall of 2016. The study involved the organization of local volunteers, NCDC staff, Fellows and interns in tracking the movements, demographics and key elements of the six block area around and north of Lower Broadway at various hours of the day and evening. Further, NCDC assisted in disseminating the Favorite Places Survey asking residents to share what some of their favorite places were in downtown Nashville and why. Both of these efforts resulted in valuable findings including that Nashville’s Lower Broadway at times has as many pedestrians as Times Square in New York City! This led to a pilot project with Metro Planning Department and in 2018, will lead to more permanent improvements to the safety and beautification of Lower Broadway.
LOWER BROADWAY IS AT THE HEART OF OUR CITY BOTH PHYSICALLY AND CULTURALLY. ITS WHERE THE MUSIC PLAYS AND WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO BE. ITS ONE OF THE BUSIEST STREETS FOR PEDESTRIANS THAT YOU’LL FIND ANYWHERE, AND IT NEEDS TO BE FUN, SAFE AND EASY TO NAVIGATE FOR ANYONE. Megan Barry Mayor of Nashville SKYLINE SOCIAL Skyline Social 2016 was held on July 7th at Neuhoff. Over 150 attendees came to claim their parking spot, to design the most creative and engaging parklets for PARK(ing) day.
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RECLAIMING PUBLIC SPACE PARK(ING) DAY 2016 For the sixth year, NCDC organized PARK(ing) Day Nashville event held on the third Friday in September. PARK(ing) Day is a global event where parking spots in over 250 cities around the world are transformed into seating areas and mini-parks for public enjoyment called, “parklets.” Often taking up not more than a standard parking space, these installations transform city streets into places where public life can thrive and inspire. The mission of PARK(ing) day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated and to improve the quality of the urban experience. PARK(ing) Day sets out to show that it’s “about open space.” During PARK(ing) Day, volunteers from all over the world challenge their communities to rethink the way streets are used and how to make them friendly to people as well as cars. Participants in Nashville compete with others to win a coveted Golden Cone Award at a ceremony held the week after PARK(ing) Day. GOLDEN CONE AWARDS The Golden Cone Awards celebrates the hard work and creative efforts of PARK(ing) Day participant groups from the over 70 organizations and businesses in and around downtown Nashville. Judging of the installations in sixteen categories was completed during PARK(ing) Day event. For the 2016 Golden Cone Awards, NCDC was honored to host the founder of PARK(ing) Day, Blaine Merker. Over 200 attendees came to Nashville Civic Design Center’s offices to walk the “green carpet,” to hear this year’s winners, get their photos taken and celebrate Reclaiming Public Space initiatives.
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KABOOM! In FY17, The Office of Mayor Megan Barry and NCDC launched Nashville’s own, KaBOOM! Play Everywhere Challenge project called The Nashville Soundbox. The Soundbox repurposed a 20-foot shipping container with components that can create sound and music such as: a whisper dish, large chimes, talking tubes and a cyclophone. The Soundbox is designed to travel to multiple locations in Davidson County, and help activate new public spaces. The Mayor’s Office and NCDC were awarded $15,000 from KaBOOM! out of a pool of more than 1,000 applications nationwide.
WE’RE THRILLED AT THE POSSIBILITY THAT NASHVILLE’S KIDS HAVE THIS FANTASTIC NEW OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AND DEVELOP FROM PLAY. WE HOPE THIS WILL BE JUST THE BEGINNING OF A LARGER EFFORT TO MAKE PLAY A WAY OF LIFE FOR KIDS AND FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
Lonnell Matthews Director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods and Community Engagement
WE WERE ASTONISHED AT THE NUMBER AND QUALITY OF THE APPLICATIONS WE RECEIVED. TO US, IT SHOWS A HUGE, UNTAPPED POTENTIAL TO REIMAGINE CITIES WITH KIDS IN MIND, AND BOOST THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO GET THE PLAY THEY NEED TO THRIVE. AND WHEN KIDS THRIVE, CITIES THRIVE.
James Siegal CEO of KaBOOM!
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DESIGN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD Design Your Neighborhood (DYN) informs the next generation of citizens in how the world is built around them. As our city grows and changes, citizen engagement will be crucial to the quality of our growth. DYN teaches youth design as a means of problem-solving in their community, and planning for the future. After recently receiving the initial seed funding for DYN in November 2015, the programming and resources to support the mission were developed and piloted throughout FY17. A curriculum was written called Design Your Neighborhood: Community Design 101, which includes hands-on, exploratory activities for teachers to use in their classrooms to engage their students with the planning and design of their neighborhood. To pilot the curriculum, NCDC hosted a summer internship program in July 2016. The curriculum was taught to the students, and was supported by a series of field trips throughout the community. At the end of the internship, the students were asked to do a “Youth Voice” project where they planned improvements to their own communities based on what they had learned. This proved to be an empowering experience that gave young people the tools and confidence to use their voice in their community. Design Your Neighborhood laid the groundwork for an ongoing high school internship program, as well as curriculum development. After refining the curriculum from the summer, NCDC’s Education Coordinator worked with five schools in Davidson County to pilot the curriculum in classrooms. The schools included: East Literature Magnet High School, Harpeth Hall, Hume-Fogg, LEAD Academy High School, and Wright Middle School. Overall, 365 students were taught the curriculum. Each of the pilots gave students an empowering experience, and were informative to the curriculum’s development in a variety of ways. NCDC made the curriculum available on its website for teachers across the county to use. After this year of developing and piloting, the DYN curriculum is ready to be implemented in even more classrooms. Putting quality materials in the hands of teachers will give DYN the potential to impact a wide audience, thus changing the landscape of citizen engagement in years to come.
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LAST YEAR I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF TEACHING THE NASHVILLE CIVIC DESIGN CENTER’S DESIGN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD CURRICULUM TO A GROUP OF PASSIONATE AND BOLD NASHVILLE FRESHMEN. THIS EXPERIENCE WAS TRANSFORMATIVE NOT ONLY FOR MY STUDENTS BUT ALSO FOR ME AS AN EDUCATOR. I GOT TO SEE MY STUDENTS WRESTLE WITH SOCIETAL ISSUES THEY FACE DAILY THROUGH THE LENS OF DESIGN AND URBAN PLANNING. NOT ONLY WERE THEY AWAKENED BY THE REALIZATION OF THE POWER THAT DESIGN HAS IN PROVIDING ACCESS TO EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES BUT THE POWER THEY THEMSELVES HAVE IN CREATING AND DEMANDING THAT CHANGE IN THEIR CITY. Lyzette Garza Educator LEAD Academy High
I WAS A PART OF THE CHESTNUT HILL SIDEWALKS COMMITTEE AND IT WAS CRAZY THE IMPACT IT HAD ON THE COMMUNITY. WE ACTUALLY HAVE A ONE YEAR PLAN THAT HOPEFULLY CHESTNUT HILL SIDEWALKS WILL BE RESTORED TO HOW THEIR FORMER GLORY WAS. I’M ACTUALLY MAKING A CHANGE WHERE I LIVE, LIKE WHERE I GO TO SCHOOL. AND THAT MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME. IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I CAN DO SOMETHING, LIKE I HAVE A VOICE. Blake Byrum LEAD Academy, 9th Grade
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UTK DESIGN STUDIO Nashville Civic Design Center maintains a strong partnership with the University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Architecture and Design (UTK CoAD). Through this partnership, NCDC coordinates various studies throughout the year that allow architecture students to study potential real world projects in Nashville. Faculty and students working at NCDC have produced numerous books and research reports on topics such as housing, policy, public art, sustainability and transit-oriented development. The student design talent brought to our city from UTK is impactful. Greater Nashville Regional Council helps provide critical funding needed to support our parternshship with UTK CoAD. The UTK partnership with NCDC furthers three agendas: to provide an intense service-learning experience for the students, to give the students an awareness of how the urban development process unfolds, and to contribute innovative ideas to the public discussion of civic design issues.” UTK STUDENT TOUR In early October, nearly 100 first-year Architecture and Interior Design students traveled to Nashville to connect with awardwinning design firms and observe the city’s unique architectural spaces. The one-day excursion was intended to introduce students to accomplished designers and celebrate architecture of a major city. Students and faculty, alike, consider the trip a great success in giving first-year students the unique experience of exploring a major city not as residents or tourists but as designers.
THIS TRIP WAS A WONDERFUL MOMENT WHERE THE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN PARTNERED WITH THE NASHVILLE ARCHITECTURAL COMMUNITY TO ENRICH AND ENHANCE THE FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE. IT WAS AN INTENSE JOURNEY WHERE STUDENTS HAD FRONTROW SEATS TO THE INNER WORKINGS OF OUTSTANDING DESIGN OFFICES WHILE SEEING FIRST HAND THE AMAZING TRANSFORMATION OF THE CITY THROUGH THE NASHVILLE CIVIC DESIGN CENTER. IT WAS IMPORTANT TO US THAT THE STUDENTS VISIT AND LEARN ABOUT THE NASHVILLE CIVIC DESIGN CENTER, A PARTNER OF THE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN. David Fox UTK Associate Professor of Architecture
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THE NEUHOFF CULTURAL CAMPUS: PROJECTING ITS FUTURE POTENTIAL In the summer of 2016, University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design summer session students turned their studies and attention to the possibilities of converting a former slaughterhouse to a cultural center in downtown Nashville. Neuhoff buildings, located in Germantown in the northern section of downtown Nashville and along the Cumberland River, have been only slightly developed since the slaughterhouse was shuttered in the 1970’s UTK students were asked to envision how it could be transformed and submit drawings that would be reviewed by design professionals and Linda McRedmond Orsagh, a coowner of Neuhoff.
AS YOU COME ACROSS THAT BRIDGE AND YOU SEE THIS CASTLE-LOOKING STRUCTURE YOU’RE JUST REALLY DRAWN TO WHAT COULD BE THERE... THAT’S THE WAY WE ARE SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT IT: THERE’S SO MUCH POTENTIAL IN THIS SPACE. Austin Barrett Architecture Student THE GOALS THAT THE NASHVILLE CIVIC DESIGN CENTER HAS FOR THE CITY ARE GOALS THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO MANY SPACES. WHEN WE HEARD THE PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OF NASHVILLE, I WAS ABLE TO LEARN HOW I SHOULD BE THINKING AS A FUTURE ARCHITECT. Katie Grostefon Architecture Student
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FY17 EVENTS & PROGRAMS 2016 ANNUAL LUNCHEON At the 2016 Annual Luncheon, over 500 design, civic, and government professionals gathered at Nashville’s Downtown Hilton with state and local elected officials, students and engaged citizens to celebrate The Plan of Nashville, learn of NCDC’s work and accomplishments over the previous year, and hear from Mayor Megan Barry about projects in Nashville that illustrate how the city is moving forward Keynote Speaker and Visionary thought leader Dr. Paul Goldberger discussed issues of urban design and civic engagement. This year’s event was co-chaired by Kim Hinton, one of the founders of NCDC, and civic leader, Laurel Creech. NCDC’s 2016 Keynote Speaker was Dr. Paul Goldberger, called “the leading figure in architectural criticism” by The Huffington Post. He is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair magazine and holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at The New School in New York City. Dr. Goldberger is the author of four books including Why Architecture Matters and his latest work, Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry. A book-signing followed the event.
DESIGN CAN IMPROVE LIFE AND CHANGE IT FOR THE BETTER FOR VIRTUALLY EVERYONE – AND NOT JUST THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD THINK OF THEMSELVES AS PATRONS OF DESIGN. Dr. Paul Goldberger
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2017 SPRING BREAKFAST On Thursday, April 4th NCDC hosted its inaugural “Living the Plan” Breakfast event featuring Janette Sadik-Khan—coauthor of Street Fight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution. Ms. Sadik-Khan is the former Transportation Commissioner for New York City and discussed how they were able to implement revolutionary changes to NYC’s streetscape and Nashville’s postential to incrase pedestrian safety, bikeability and transportation overall. Janette Sadik-Khan is considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on transportation and urban transformation. She served as New York City’s Transportation Commissioner from 2007-2013 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, overseeing historic changes to that city’s streets—closing Broadway to cars in Times Square, building nearly 400 miles of bike lanes and creating more than 60 plazas city-wide. Sadik-Khan is also a Founding Principal with Bloomberg Associates and works with mayors around the world to reimagine and redesign their cities. She chairs the National Association of Transportation Officials, implementing new, people-focused street design standards which have been adopted in 40 cities across the continent.
THERE ARE POSSIBILITIES YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW AND IT’S EXCITING-IT’S NOT A QUESTION OF ENGINEERING BUT OF IMAGINING. NASHVILLE’S FUTURE IS TO FIND ITS STREETS. Janette Sadik-Khan
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FY17 EVENTS & PROGRAMS URBAN DESIGN FORUMS Urban Design Forums began in 1995 and provide a monthly opportunity to discuss or engage in topics of how design impacts our city. Urban Design Forums feature innovative projects, informative speakers from across our city and nation, and visionary design topics. Some months, Urban Design Forums become “UDF’s in Action” when paired with a handson design activation or event. AUGUST 2016— The Future of Parks series kicked off with “Creating a Vibrant Park System” talk by former NYC Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, Adrian Benepe. Mr. Benepe now serves as Senior Vice President and Director of City Park Development for The Trust for Public Land. SEPTEMBER 2016— Urban Design Forum in Action. PARK(ing) Day (See page 14) OCTOBER 2016—The Future of Parks series continued with Thomas Woltz entitled, “The Contemporary Urban Parks of NBW: A Family Album of our Cities.” Mr. Woltz used Nashville’s Centennial Park and three other landscapes designed by firm, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, to illustrate the firms process which is rooted in ecological and cultural research. Woltz was named Design Innovator of the Year by Wall Street Journal in 2013 and maintains two NBW offices in New York City and Charlottesville, Virginia. NOVEMBER 2016—Annual Luncheon with Paul Goldberger (See page 20) DECEMBER 2016— “A Park System Like No Other” with Peter Harnik and held at The Frist Center for the Visual Arts. Mr. Harnik is the Director of The Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence and a Co-Founder of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Mr. Harnik is also the author of, Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities which was named one of the best five books of the year by American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in 2010. FEBRUARY 2017— Shaping the Healthy Community: Nashville Neighborhoods was held at Cal Turner Jr. Center of Meharry Medical College and featured speakers; Lonnell Matthews of The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods and Community Engagement, and Gary Gaston, Executive Director or NCDC. Panelists included; developers Kelly Bonadies, D.J. Wootson and civic leader, Lorenzo Washington. Over 150 attendees heard presentations, asked questions and discussed the role of placemaking in Nashville neighborhoods. MARCH 2017— Shaping the Healthy Community: Nashville
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Neighborhoods installment focused on the growing Wedgewood-Houston area. This UDF examined policy and design strategies for improving the health of the neighborhood and discussed the importance of community involvement in development as Nashville continues to grow. In WedgewoodHouston area, the UDF focused on design, open space and future development of the neighborhood. Panelists included residential and business stakeholders, developers, designers and neighborhood representatives. APRIL 2017— Urban Design Forum took shape as an inaugural “Living the Plan” spring breakfast featuring Janette Sadik-Khan, author of Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution and former Director of Transportation under Mayor Bloomberg in New York City. MAY 2017— Cohousing: Building Resilient Neighborhoods. NCDC hosted this UDF in partnership with The Cohousing Association of the United States who held their first conference in Nashville this May. The Forum featured two acclaimed cohousing experts, Kathryn McCamant of CoHousing Solutions and Charles Durrett of The Cohousing Company. As the architects who brought the concept over from Europe in the 1980’s, Kathryn and Charles provided a history of the movement, shared benefits of resident-initiated neighborhood models and their modern-day resiliency factors in both urban and rural designs. JUNE 2017— NCDC kicked of PARK(ing) Day planning season with Skyline Social and PARK(ing) Day 101 Urban Design Forum. NCDC also hosted an “Urban Design Forum” in Action with the installation and support of the Better Cities for Pets, “Pets Welcome” program in Franklin, TN with Mars Petcare. This event was the first showing of our urban pop-up dog park of the future and other solutions to creating pet-friendly places and spaces in urban cores of all sizes
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FY17 EVENTS & PROGRAMS DESIGN FIELD TRIP In FY17, NCDC hosted a Design Field Trip that visited Columbus, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio. Columbus, Indiana is knowns as “The Athens of the Prairie.” It has been ranked 6th in nation for architectural innovation and design—right behind Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco and Washington D.C. This small, southern Indiana town set out to explore the idea that architecture can improve the human condition and is a must-see for architects, design professionals and anyone interested in urban planning. Columbus’ highlights included: a tour of Mill Race Park, Miller House and Garden, a guided bus tour of over 70 notable buildings and public art installations by I.M. Pei, David Chihuly and more. Next, our architectural adventurers traveled to “The Queen City” of Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati has become noted as one of the most diverse cities when it comes to history and design. Cincinnati possesses an impressive quantity and quality of architectural styles throughout the city, including some of the most iconic Art Deco designs in the United States. Cincinnati’s highlight stops included; a tour of Smale Riverfront Park, John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, Zaha Hadid’s Contemporary Art Center, National Underground Freedom Center, Beer Tunnel Tour, Cincinnati Museum Center, and a tour of the famed Over the Rhine neighborhood. TOURS NCDC typically hosts 1-6 tour opportunities per year either for members of NCDC only or in coordination with a partner organization. In FY17, NCDC hosted three tours; two for members-only and 1 in partnership with Transit Now Nashville during April’s “Transit Month” activities. MAY 2016— Tour of Pfeffer Torrode Architecture in partnership with American Institute of Architects (AIA) – attendees visisted the new East Nashville offices as well as acclaimed, new to Nashville, New York cocktail bar, Attaboy’s. FEBRUARY 2017— Young Urbanist Hard Hat Tour to 515 5th Avenue to visit the former Dollar General Store headquarters now being transformed into a mixed-use facility by local foodoriented real-estate firm, Fresh Hospitality. This tour was in partnership wth Tuck-Hinton Architects and Gobbell Hayes Partners, Inc.
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APRIL 2017— NCDC hosted “Ticket to Ride” with Transit Now Nashville, The Village Fund and Nashville’s Metro Transit Authority for a train trip on the Music City Star from Riverfront Station in downtown to Donelson. Over 60 attendees enjoyed a lively voyage, food and beverages post-trip and a return ride by MTA bus. This event was a part of Nashville’s Transit Month activities.
PECHAKUCHA NIGHTS PechaKucha Nights were created in Tokyo in 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network and show their work in public. Since then, it has turned into a global phenomenon with over 500 cities now participating world-wide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for “chit chat,” it utilizes a a presentation format that makes for concise and fast-paced presentations—20 slides x 20 seconds each. NCDC hosts quarterly PechaKucha Nights with 8-12 presenters per event sharing unique information about their work and/or passion in relationship to matters in design. PechaKucha Night Themes in FY17 included: PKN “OPEN CALL” Over 120 attendees came to hear presentations on 12 diverse individual topics including Nashville’s food, art, esoteric and design scene. “IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN” This event, held at ONEC1TY, explored rich topics around sustainability such as American Chestnut Trees, food forests, and more. “NASHFASH” The first PechaKucha Night of 2017 was an homage to Nashville Fashion. Eleven presenters expounded on the past, present and future of fashion in Nashville. “GO GREEN & STAY LEAN” The focus of this PKN was on the ways sustainability and health are intertwined.
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FY17 EVENTS & PROGRAMS CITYTHINK
CityThink is a program designed to encourage discussion around current urban design topics throughout Nashville. These programs are open to the public and always include a lively public input and question and answer segment. In 2016, CityThinks were revamped to reflect topics gleaned from Shaping the Healthy Community: The Nashville Plan NCDC’s newest book. CityThinks are terrific opportunities to give and get feedback about development issues in Nashville, and to help envision how to make a more functional and beautiful city for all. In FY17, NCDC held CityThinks on the following topics: OCTOBER 2016: “Nashville’s Next Era of Great Parks” featured a presentation by Tim Netsch, Assistant Director at Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County’s Parks Department. Mr. Netsch leads the Parks Planning Division that has overseen the Plan to Play public engagement and research processes that have led to the development of The Nashville Parks and Greenways Master Plan which outlines a twenty-year plan for Davidson County parks and greenways that was unveiled in 2016. MARCH 2017: Nashville may be an “It” City—but is it a “FIT” City? This CityThink explored ideas around urban planning that marry Metro’s data points with health-promoting indexes such as American Fitness Index, the 500 Cities Project, Walk Scores and more. Presentations provided by Dr. Don Kintner of Trevecca University and Michael Thompson of Nashville Civic Design Center. APRIL 2017: “10 Parks that Changed America” film. This documentary discussed ten revolutionary city parks that were designed to create a respite from the hustle and bustle of city life. Each park was designed by a visionary architect to transfrom how we view and use city parks. Featured parks include; the Square of Savannah, Fairmont Park, Mt. Auburn Cemetery, San Antonio’s River Walk, Overton Park, High Line, Gas Works Park, Freeway Park and Chicago’s Neighborhood Parks. Gary Hawkins and Rebecca Ratz, local landscape architects, introduced the film and discussed Metro Nashville’s recently released parks and greenways master plan- Plan to Play: Nashville Parks and Greenways Master Plan.
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HONORS
2017 SMALL-SCALE CHARTER AWARD FOR ENVISION BROADWAY BY CNU.ORG NCDC was proud to receive a Charter Award from Congress of New Urbanism along with Nashville’s Metro Planning Department for our efforts towards the “Envision Broadway” project. Envision Broadway work focused on the study, advocacy and piloting methods to transform Nashville’s busy, Lower Broadway area into a more safe and vibrant pedestrian experience. Known as the “Envision Broadway Demonstration Project,” NCDC, Metro Planning, Parks and others worked together to reimagine public space in this area by expanding “people space” in temporary sidewalk extensions, adding café tables, chairs, plants, colorful paint and more. This pilot served as an initial testing ground and feedback from nearby businesses, residents and the public was gathered. The city is now evaluating a permanent shared space design. THE REDESIGN HAS THE ADDED BENEFIT OF IMPROVED PLACEMAKING. THE SOFTENING OF THE SPACE THOUGH THE REDESIGN WILL MAKE IT FAR MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN IT’S CURRENT STATE AND LOWER BROADWAY BECOMES A BETTER EXPERIENCE AND DESTINATION IN AND OF ITSELF. Local Resident EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH FOR SHAPING THE HEALTHY COMMUNITY BY NASHVILLE AREA MPO DEC. 15. 2016 NCDC was honored to receive an “Excellence in Public Health” Award by Nashville Area Metro Planning Organization (MPO) at their annual awards ceremony in December of 2016. The MPO’s Leadership Awards are presented to inviduals and organizations which have had significant impacts. NCDC received the award in recognition of our publication, Shaping the Healthy Community: The Nashville Plan which provides “concrete ideas with case studies from rural, suburban and urban areas in Middle Tennessee for how to design neighborhoods and transportation systems that will allow peole to live healthy, active lifestyles.” THIS BOOK PROVIDES CONCRETE IDEAS - WITH CASE STUDIES FROM RURAL, SUBURBAN AND URBAN AREAS IN TENNESSEE - FOR HOW TO DESIGN NEIGHBORHOODS AND TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS THAT WILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO LIVE HEALTHY AND ACTIVE LIFESTYLES. WITH OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM DIRECTLY AFFECTING HOW MUCH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MOST OF US CAN WORK INTO OUR EVERY DAY LIFE, CIVIC DESIGN CENTER’S BOOK CAN HELP ALL COMMUNITIES TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THEIR DESIGNS IN ORDER TO INCORPORATE EASIER WAYS TO WALK, BIKE, AND BE HEALTHY Rachelle Carpenter Senior Policy Analyst with Nashville Area MPO
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NEWS NCDC thinks about the state of our city, where we are going, what makes sense and why. In FY17, NCDC was featured in many articles and television spots discussing current topics such as; Envision Broadway planning and efforts, pedestrian bridges, issues around Ryman Auditorium development plans, TURBO’s traffic circle and tactical urbanism efforts and more. SEPTEMBER 2016: NCDC Executive Director, Gary Gaston, was featured in The Nashville Post’s annual, Boom! Issue. Gary provided his thoughts on the present state and future development of Nashville and its “It City” status. The Nashville Post helped announce the partnership between NCDC and Mars Petcare in launching the new program, Better Cities for Pets. “The nonprofit announced a partnership at its Nov. 3 Annual Luncheon with Franklin-based Mars Petcare that will make Nashville “a more pet-friendly city through design, development, and transformational partnerships.” Jam Stewart, Mars Petcare director of corporate communications, said NCDC’s expertise in urban planning “will be integral in helping us design a true model to define how cities like Nashville can operate in a world where we’re seeing more and more pets in cities – truly bringing our vision to life.” Nashville Public Radio (NPR) featured NCDC in several articles and spots including, Park(ing) Day Turns Parking Spaces Into Real Life Parks. The Tennessean asked for NCDC input on Gulch-Sobro pedestrian bridge undergoes design overhaul, Lower Broadway stretch to be painted blue for walkability project and more. Other news spots and articles featuring NCDC include:
• • • •
•
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Center for New Urbanism: Cnu.org Tennessee Today Nashville Interiors University of Tennessee Knoxville websites and publications WTVF- Channel 5
• WSMV- Channel 4 • WKRN-Chann el 2 • WZTV- Fox 17 Press releases from; The Pew Charitable Trusts, Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, Let’s Play!, The Office of the Mayor, Metropolitan Planning Organization and more.
COMMUNICATIONS Nashville Civic Design Center communicates with the public regularly on happenings, civic issues, programs, events, volunteer opportunities and so much more through a variety of ways. Check out www.civicdesigncenter.org for all of our current news and updates.
NCDC typically publishes one e-letter per week. This provides subscribers with the latest information and resources about all things NCDC. Not yet a subscriber? Visit our website and sign up under the SUPPORT tab from our home page. You’ll find NCDC on Facebook as www.facebook.com/nashvillecivicdesigncenter Our facebook page features tons of photos, info about what’s happening now and is coming, event notifications, links to articles and partners of interest, etc. You’ll find NCDC on Twitter @ncdc Our Twitter account features info about NCDC events and happenings, links to articles and partners, photos, notifications and more (in less than 140 characters!). Instagram is where we can put some of our most visually rich content. You’ll find NCDC @nashvillecivicdesign NCDC’s YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user/NashvilleCivicDesign is home to video content produced by, or in partnership with NCDC. Missed an Urban Design Forum and really wanted to hear that speaker? No problem, you can watch the presentation on YouTube. Other key events, programs and general information videos are posted regularly.
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ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET 0.5% Miscellaneous
INCOME: Grants (Restricted) 24.2% Grants (Unrestricted) 37.4% Institutions 5.3% Major Donors 0.9% Memberships 1.5% Programs and Projects 2.4% Fundraising 21.9% Miscellaneous 0.5% In-Kind 6.0% Total Income:
6% In-Kind
$ 224,015 $ 346,316 $ 48,872 $ 7,917 $ 13,570 $ 21,779 $ 203,133 $ 4,192 $ 55,680
24.2% Grants (Restricted)
21.9% Fundraising
37.4% Grants (Unrestricted)
$ 925,474
5.3% Institutions 1.5% Memberships 0.9% Major Donors 2.4% Programs and Projects
EXPENSES: Personnel (non-allocated) 12.2% Contract Services (non-allocated) 6.1% General Operations 16.2% Programs and Projects 57.7% Fundraising 7.8% Total Expenses:
$ 111,845 $ 55,506 $ 148,755 $ 528,603 $ 71,657
7.8% Fundraising
$ 916,365
16.2% General
and Projects
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$ 9,109
Net Assets - beginning of year
$ 248,662
Net Assets - end of year
$ 257,771
6.1% Contract Services
57.7% Programs
Change in Net Assets
12.2% Personnel
2016-2017 ANNUAL SPONSORS PRESENTING SPONSORS
PROGRAM SPONSORS
KEYSTONE SPONSORS
CORNERSTONE SPONSORS
urbangrout COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
VOUSSOIR SPONSORS Aertson Midtown Barge Cauthen + Associates, Inc. Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon, Inc. Bell & Associates Construction California South Development Carter Group, LLC Centric Architecture Civil Site Design Group Colliers International Core Development Services Craig Philip and Marian Ott Crain Construction Cyril Stewart, LLC DAAD Freeman Webb Companies
Giarratana LLC Gould Turner Group Hardaway Construction Hensler Development Group, LLC HFR Design Highwoods Properties Hoar Construction Hodgson Douglas, LLC Holladay Properties Johnson Johnson Crabtree Architects, PC KCI Technologies Lipscomb University Lose + Associates, Inc. Manuel Zeitlin Architects, LLC MarketStreet Enterprises McAlpine
Newbern Consulting Services NovaCopy OakPoint Real Estate ONEC1TY Pinnacle Financial Partners R.C. Mathews Contractor Ragan-Smith Associates S&ME Inc. Smith Gee Studio Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. Southeast Venture Tennessee Concrete Association The DISTRICT Nashville Thomas & Hutton TMPartners, PLLC Turner Construction Van Pond Architect PLLC
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DONORS Over $50,000
Perkins + Will
JE Dunn Construction
American Planning Association
SKANSKA
Johnson Johnson Crabtree
Greater Nashville Regional
Southernland
Architects PC
Council
Vanderbilt University Medical
Littlejohn & Co.
James Stephen Turner Family
Center
Lose + Associates, Inc.
Foundation
Nashville MTA
Newbern Consulting Services,
Mars Petcare
Tennessee Department of
LLC
Metropolitan Government of
Transportation
O’More College of Design
Nashville and Davidson
Gehl Studio
Oakpoint Real Estate
County
Greater Nashville Association
Pinnacle Financial Partners
Steve and Judy Turner
of Realtors, Inc.
R.C. Mathews Contractor
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Metro Water Services
Ragan Smith
Metropolitan Development
RPM Transportation Consultants,
and Housing Agency
LLC
Nashville Chamber of
Sandra Schatten Foundation
Earl Swensson Associates, Inc.
Commerce
Smith Gee Studio
Joe C. Davis Foundation
Aerston Midtown
Smith Seckman Reid, Inc.
The Brown Family
American Constructors, Inc.
Solomon Builders
University of Tennessee
Barge Cauthen + Associates,
Southeast Venture
College of Architecture and
Inc.
The District
Design
Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and
TMPARTNERS
Cannon, Inc.
Van Pond Architects
Bell & Associates
Metro Planning Department
LP Building Products
Centric Architecture, Inc.
Tara Armistead
one C1TY
Civil Site Design Group
Berdelle Campbell
Scott C. Chambers Fund
Colliers International
Hunter Gee
The Villiage Real Estate Advised
Common Ground Urban
Donna Glassford
Vanderbilt University
Design
Kim Hawkins
Core Development
L.J. Hoke
Craig Philip and Marion Ott
Rita Hoke
Hastings Architecture
Crain Construction, Inc.
Mike Kenner
Manuel Zeitlin Architects
D|AAD
Eric Kopstain
Tuck-Hinton Architects
EOA Architects
Melanie Moran
Brasfield & Gorrie
Freeman Webb Companies
David Powell
Gresham Smith & Partners
H.G. Hill Realty Company, LLC
Kim Shinn
Hensler Development Group,
Hardaway Construction
LLC
Hawkins Partners, Inc.
MarketStreet
HFR Design
Miken Development
Hodgeson & Douglas
Nelson Mullins Riley &
I. C. Thomasson Associates,
Scarborough, LLP
Inc.
$10,000 - $49,999
$5,000 - $9,999
$1,000 - $4,999
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$500-$999
Up to $100
Hemalatha Gokhale
Daniel Alderman
Meaghan McArdle
Ashley Howell
Ali Alsaleh
Stephanie McCullough
Marcus Kerske
Kate Armstrong
Daniel McDonell
Neil Kohler
Judy Bayer
Tyler Neill
Eric Schultenover
MeniĂŠ Bell
David Paine
Renata Soto
Miles Biggs
Christian Paro
Abbey Boghozian
Shandi Paro
David Bordenkircher
Douglas Perkins
Lipscomb University
Thomas Boyd
Allison Plattsmier
David Bailey
Parker Camp
Chris Powers
Clint Camp
Allison Crady
Ann Roberts
Tifinie Capehart
Laurel Creech
Jonathan Rodgers
Brian Christians
Steve Davis
Anne Roos
Won Choi
Samuel Dennis Jr
Allison Salisbury
Al Cocke
Allison Diehl
Jules Shainberg
Marleen Davis
Gina Emmanuel
Erin Simpson
T.K. Davis
Drew Ewing
Margaret Scott
Gary Everton
Matt Genova
Laura Sherborne
Adeline Fulmer
Mark Gliebe
Catherine Soudoplatoff
Lynette Fulmer
Kristen Gruhn
Leslie Speller-Henderson
Gary Gaston
Scott Guthrie
Michelle Steele
Kara Gee
Erin Hafkenschiel
Alan Thompson
Melody Gibson
Jackie Hansom
Ryan Turbeville
John Harkey
Alan Hayes
Meagan Vaughn
Edward Henley III
Campbell Haynes
Lynn Walkerl
David Johnston
Dani Hoke
Justin Wallace
David Keiser
Eric Hoke
Kasey West
David Koellein
Kate Hyde
Drew Wharton
Mark Magnuson
Jayme Jacobson
Courtney White
Mick Nelson
Joy Jarrett
Robert White
Judson Newbern
Celeste Jones
Christine Whitmore
Christine Rachelle
Cliff Joyner
Kathryn Withers
Daniel Ryan
James Kennon
Katherine Woods
Douglas Smith
Steven Klintworth
Ron Yearwood
Alan Sparkman
Lauren Laumeyer
Jolie Yockey
Diana Sullivan
Sara Lee
Mary Melissa Yohn
Nathan Sweitzer
Justin Lowe
Tina Tuggle
Eric Malo
Philip Welker
Andrew Maxwell
$101-$499
Michelle Mazzu
Joe Mayes
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FY2017 STAFF, INTERNS & FELLOWS NCDC Staff
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Gary Gaston Executive Director
Eric Hoke Design Manager
Ron Yearwood Design Director
Joe Mayes Program Manager
Melody Gibson Education Manager
Jules Shainberg Financial Coordinator
Fuller Hanan Community Development Manager
Jolie Ayn Yockey Special Projects
FY17 Fellows Kelsey Oesmann, Enterprise Rose Fellow Daniel Toner, Design Fellow Michael Thompson, Research Fellow Billy White, Technology Fellow
THIS INTERNSHIP LIT A FIRE WITHIN ME. I WANT TO CONTINUE DESIGNING, SURROUNDING MYSELF WITH PROFESSIONALS IN THE FIELD OF DESIGN AND MAKING AN IMPACT IN NASHVILLE. Shanese Brown FY17 Intern
FY17 Interns Lakeshia Coman Jaqueline Cox Edgar Bolivar Lindsey Bradley Shanese Brown Vivek Prasad
MY EXPERIENCE REAFFIRMED MY PASSION TO CREATE SPACES THAT UNITE COMMUNITIES AND SERVE PUBLIC. I HOPE TO CONTINUE WORKING IN THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR OR A COMMUNITY-ORIENTED FIRM. Natalie McCharthy FY17 Fellow
Fellowships with the Nashville Civic Design Center are awarded to design and research professionals as an opportunity to develop a variety of projects in the spirit and theme of the NCDC Mission. Fellows are expected to exhibit excellence in their past endeavors, and are considered ambassadors for NCDC within the Nashville community. Fellowships vary greatly, but they include the opportunity to publish and/or exhibit the findings of the work. In many instances, primary authorship of the published work will be granted to the Fellow. The Nashville Civic Design Center offers part-time and full-time internship opportunities throughout the year. The intern’s main responsibility is to provide design, research and administrative assistance for the Center’s current projects. The Civic Design Center’s staff works closely with individuals to tailor each fellowship and internship to fit the applicants interests and talents. Fellows and interns will have the opportunity to participate in multiple areas within the Design Center’s office, including work in architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, graphic design, mass media, community development, environmental sustainability, marketing/communications, volunteer coordination and fundraising.
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FY2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Scott Chambers, President Scott C. Chambers Fund
Judson Newburn Newbern Consulting Services
Ron Lustig, Vice President Earl Swensson Associates, Inc.
Craig Philip Vanderbilt University
Jeff Kuhnhenn, Secretary Gresham Smith & Partners
Jeff Rymer Rymer Gallery
Norm Carl, Treasurer Community Member
Eric Schultenover Counsel on Call, Good People Brewing Company
David Powell, Immediate Past President Hastings Architecture Associates
Leslie Speller-Henderson Tennessee State University
Tara Armistead Tara Armistead Landscape Architect
Cyril Stewart Cyril Stewart, LLC
Andrew Beaird Core Development Services
Mary Pat Teague Vanderbilt University
Darek Bell Bell & Associates Construction, and Corsair Distillery
FY18 New Officers and Board Members
Jennifer Carlat Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Tifinie Capehart Silverpointe Properties
Laurel Creech Metro General Services
Kristy Hickson Skanska USA
TK Davis, Ex-Officio University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design
Melanie Moran Vanderbilt University News and Communications
Ryan Doyle oneC1TY Chris Dunn Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP Dodd Galbreath Lipscomb University
Philip Shepard, YLC Board Intern HOAR Construction Renata Soto Conexion Americas
Jennifer Johnston
Michelle Steele Lipscomb University
Andrew Maxwell, YLC Board Intern OakPoint Real Estate
Irwin Venick Dobbins Venick, Kuhn & Byassee, PLLC
Dana Neal ULI Nashville
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Chris Powers HCA Healthcare
IT IS IMPORTANT TO OUR GROWING REGION TO HAVE AN ORGANIZATION LIKE NCDC TO EDUCATE, FACILITATE AND SHAPE OUR COMMUNITIES TOWARD GREAT DESIGNS, URBAN PLANNING AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS, FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. Ron Lustig President, Board of Directors FY18 Nashville Civic Design Center
@ncdc nashvillecivicdesign /nashvillecivicdesigncenter /nashvillecivicdesigncenter
138 Second Avenue North Suite 106 Nashville, TN 37201
Phone: 615-248-4280 info@civicdesigncenter.org civicdesigncenter.org