Ten Principles for Creating A Successful Hemming Plaza
April 17, 2012 30 comments
Print Article
In 2005, Metro Jacksonville pointed out to the JEDC and Peyton Administration why the Main Street Pocket Park would struggle to succeed if built. We were ignored and $800,000 later, the chickens eventually came home to roost as our warnings became reality. Now that we're destined to repeat the same mistakes with Hemming Plaza, we'd like to take a step back and examine ten principles needed for a successful urban public space, according to Project for Public Spaces. If the council's committee can embrace and plan from this set of principles, Hemming Plaza will be the centerplace of activity once again.
4. Flexible Design
A flexible design enables a space to host special events such as this speech by Lyndon Johnson in 1960.
The use of a square changes during the course of the day, week, and year. To respond to these natural fluctuations, flexibility needs to be built in. Instead of a permanent stage, for example, a retractable or temporary stage could be used. Likewise, it is important to have on-site areas where temporary vendors could be used to generate additional foot traffic. A good portion of Hemming's existing design is already flexible because it can used for multiple uses. .
An example of "flexibility" could be allowing the extra pavement along the park's perimeter to be used by mobile vendors (image below) occassionally.
30 Comments so far
Jump into the conversation