Public Realm, Place Making, and Sustainability

The “public realm” of a city is the environment that its streets, open spaces, parks and plazas create for visitors, employees and residents. The public realm in any vibrant Downtown engages people and encourages human interaction. It makes one want to sit outside at a café and watch what’s going on rather than stay inside. Its streets celebrate the uniqueness of Downtown and add to its creativity.

In Downtown Louisville, some parts of the public realm currently provide exactly this kind of welcoming environment. The West Main Street area and Waterfront Park exemplify two areas where the public realm is successful in engaging visitors, residents and employees in an attractive and pedestrian-friendly atmosphere. This is no accident. Active and intensive efforts to create this kind of environment in these areas have been in place for a number of years. Aegon Plaza is a good example of space that is inviting to pedestrians, creating a great atmosphere for stopping and enjoying the city.

The creation of an inviting public realm does not depend solely upon an upgraded streetscape program, although that is certainly one necessary element for success, particularly in those places where the quality of the public right-of-way does not match that of the private. The creation of a sense of place involves a complex set of interrelationships among a variety of factors. These include:

• the location and programming of public parks and plazas;
  
• the storefront retail environment;
  
• the speed, direction and flow of traffic;
  
• the design of private buildings;
  
• landscaping features;
  
• the existence of “missing teeth” at the building line;
  
• the location and design of parking and mass transit facilities; and
  
• the lighting and cleanliness of the area. 
  
• Waterfront Park

Louisville’s reclamation of the waterfront has helped to reconnect the public to the Ohio River after many years of waterfront property use that was openly hostile to pedestrians. A generation ago, a drive along the River would show most of the property being used for a variety of heavy industries. Today, green spaces, play areas, a new baseball stadium, and new residential development are all contributing to the community’s return to the River.

Louisville Waterfront Park is the front door to Kentucky, a playground for people of all ages, and a gathering place for folks from all over the community. It offers a grand view of the river, space for concerts and festivals, quiet places to read a book, picnic spaces for your family and friends. The parks hosts crowds of 350,000 for Thunder Over Louisville, and groups of 25 for family reunions.

The Park is made up of three phases and totals 85 acres. The last phase, Phase III, is currently under construction and will be completed soon.   Annual attendance at Waterfront Park tops 1.5 million people.

For more information on Waterfront Park: www.louisvillewaterfront.com

Open Spaces

Open spaces are a key part of the urban environment, and Downtown benefits from a number of quality parks and plazas. The 1990 plan calls for these open spaces to “be intentionally designed and located for clearly understood purposes and uses. Founders Square is designed to form a central place adjoining the Cathedral of the Assumption and surrounding developments. Jefferson Square acts as a transition among the government buildings. Fort Nelson Park is a small park on West Main Street designed to fit the character of the historic district while still remaining a pleasant gathering space, and Aegon Plaza is the largest open space in the central core of Downtown, welcoming visitors from the neighboring Convention Center and Downtown employees alike. With the exception of Waterfront Park, the Belvedere is the largest open space Downtown. Its seven acres are connected to Main St., Waterfront Park, the Kentucky Center and overlook the Ohio River. It is a prime location for festivals and events too large for the smaller plazas throughout Downtown, but not large enough to move to Waterfront Park.

 

Green Buildings

Downtown is at the forefront of sustainable development. It is often said that the greenest building is the one already built. Many developers downtown have taken special care when reusing buildings to add green and sustainable features. At the forefront is The Green Building. The Green Building is 110 years old and has obtained LEED Platinum certification. The mixed used space has helped show what is possible when making historic structures sustainable. Fifteen other buildings downtown also obtained a LEED certification or registration. This includes new construction, such as the University of Louisville’s new medical research center, one of the few LEED university research centers in the country. Additionally, a number of buildings have made green improvements without seeking the LEED certification, notably, the KFC Yum! Center.