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Firms Stand Up for Renewal Forum11-11-05 | News

Firms Stand Up for Renewal Forum

A view of Biloxi, Miss. produced by Mississippi Renewal Forum participants shows where planners urge the ?EUR??,,????'??creation of neighborhood and district centers?EUR??,,????'?? in the middle of each circle. The roadway heading off the map at upper right is Hwy. 90, which the team sees transformed into ?EUR??,,????'??a world-class water boulevard?EUR??,,????'?? passing from Gulfport through the center of Biloxi to the Mississippi mainland. Image ???????(C) Moule & Polyzoides, Architects and Urbanists.

If there?EUR??,,????'???s a silver lining to the storms that killed and impacted so many on the Gulf Coast it?EUR??,,????'???s the chance to remake and improve many communities in Louisiana and Mississippi.

To seize the chance, more than 200 design professionals (included several firms that practice landscape architecture) donated a week of their time in October to attend the Mississippi Renewal Forum. There they teamed up for 11 intensive charrettes that brought together a wealth of ideas for the rebuilding the most hard-hit communities on the coast.

The list includes Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Gulfport, Pass Christian, Gautier, Moss Point, D?EUR??,,????'???Iberville, Long Beach, Ocean Springs, Waveland and Pascagoula.

A close-up rendering of Biloxi?EUR??,,????'???s historic downtown, with Beach Blvd. and the city?EUR??,,????'???s Gulf Coast waterfront at bottom. The large black shapes on the shore are casinos, which were heavily damaged by Katrina. Note the liberal placement of trees along streets and thoroughfares.Image ???????(C) Moule & Polyzoides, Architects and Urbanists.

According to The Smart Growth Network, the planning work would have cost at least $300,000 if completed by a single firm.

While noting the devastation and human suffering, the assembled group welcomed the blank slate the storms left them. Co-sponsored by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, the Congress for the New Urbanism and New Urbanist guru Andres Duany (of Miami-based Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co.), the forum warmed to the task of giving the communities a more walkable, human scale with new neighborhood centers.

?EUR??,,????'??We?EUR??,,????'???re not picking up after Katrina,?EUR??,,????'?? said Elizabeth Moule (of Pasadena, Calif.-based Moule & Polyzoides, Architects and Urbanists). ?EUR??,,????'??We?EUR??,,????'???re helping (Biloxi) recover from the hurricane of the last 50 years (of bad planning).?EUR??,,????'??

The building on the left isn?EUR??,,????'???t a damaged multistory structure?EUR??,,????'??+it?EUR??,,????'???s a floating casino barge that was driven across the road by Hurricane Katrina?EUR??,,????'???s storm surge. Biloxi?EUR??,,????'???s casinos will be rebuilt during the redevelopment period. Photo courtesy of Jack Swayze.

For Biloxi (and the other communities) the plan envisions the creation of better-defined neighborhood centers connected by redesigned, tree-lined thoroughfares.

Additional photos and information is available at the Mississippi Renewal Forum website, www.mississippirenewal.com

Participants are continuing to put their plans together, with a final document due on Gov. Barbour?EUR??,,????'???s desk by Dec. 31.