Good Urbanism 201

In response to the success of our 101 classes and the demand for additional offerings, our Growth Management team developed Good Urbanism 201. This advanced class allows attendees to participate in a real-life design project and attempt to retain principles of the 101 course in developing a site plan.

The 201 course includes a limited refresher of 101 principles; then, the class is divided into teams, given a challenging site within metro Atlanta, and directed to create a site plan. The teams work over two weeks to develop their proposed site plans, which are presented in the final class. Good Urbanism lecturers provide critiques to each team’s plan. Then, the real world design proposal for the site is revealed.

In the inaugural class, which included a dozen participants in fields ranging from architecture to public health, participants were divided into three teams to tackle a real-world development challenge – a housing development on a 4.8-acre parcel in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward-Inman Park area. The goal was to draft a proposal that would establish clear relationships between public and private spaces and be flexible enough to allow for changes in the development over time.

The site presented several challenges. Its location – hemmed in by Freedom Parkway, the BeltLine and an elevated part of Highland Avenue – limited possible connections to the surrounding neighborhood. And the property’s jagged, irregular shape made it difficult to organize the land into developable blocks.

Below are the recommendations presented by the different groups.

Group 1:

• Placed a right-of-way (a streets and walk/bike path) between the BeltLine and the new development to create a separation between what is private land and what is public land.

• Extended an existing street across the BeltLine to connect existing neighborhoods to the new development.

• Incorporated new retail space along an existing street.

Group 2:

• Extended an existing street across the BeltLine to connect existing neighborhoods to the new development.

• Created a central green space that connects to the BeltLine.

• Placed retail uses along the BeltLine.

Group 3:

• Created greenspace to connect the new development to the BeltLine.

• Placed multi-family housing along the BeltLine.

• Created single-family homes adjacent to existing single family homes as a way to connect the new development to the adjacent neighborhood.

Please visit the Good Urbanism main page to view the latest Good Urbanism 201 and Good Urbanism 101 course offerings.