Downtown Planning & Development
Urban Design
Urban Design promotes quality in what is called the "public realm," that part of the city that isn't occupied by buildings—streets, sidewalks, and open space—but at the same time is shaped by adjoining structure, especially by the relationship of buildings to the street. In a visual sense, the public realm belongs to everyone, and when it is well designed and the adjoining development is well designed the resulting impact on our senses makes a place that stays in our mind, a place that we want to return to. Urban Design seeks to reveal what is special in the city, a "sense of place" that is uniquely Tallahassee's.
In the Planning Department, good urban design in the public realm is the basis for design standards and guidelines that have been adopted for new zoning districts in the Gaines Street Study Area. Compliance with the new regulations is now part of the permitting process, and the Urban Design Commission reviews every project in the Gaines Street design districts, to ensure that they contribute to the sense of place envisioned for the area. In addition, the Planning Department's urban design professionals partner with developers to assist in developing project design concepts that will shape and support the quality of the public realm in Tallahassee's reviving downtown.
Gaines Street
The City of Tallahassee adopted the Gaines Street Revitalization Plan ("The Plan") in November 2000. The Plan articulated its objective for the Gaines Street Corridor in a 1996-planning project that involved over a hundred people.