Gresham Smith Selected to Design Congress for the New Urbanism Legacy Project

March 7, 2019

Gresham Smith is proud to announce the firm has been selected by the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) to spearhead a Legacy Project, a pro-bono design initiative that provides underserved communities with smart urban planning. Working with the Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Gresham Smith landscape architecture, planning and engineering teams will work to reconnect Louisville residents with the South Fork of Beargrass Creek, developing a vision for the 7-mile stretch from the Louisville Zoo to the Ohio River that improves water quality while honoring the site’s significance as an economic, environmental and cultural resource. The Legacy Project, which will take place March 7-9, is in conjunction with CNU’s 27th annual Congress that will be held in Louisville in June.

“Beargrass Creek is one of Louisville’s largest natural resources, but it’s largely out of sight and out of mind. If we ever want Beargrass Creek to be a community resource again, people need to see it and understand it,” said Louis Johnson, PLA, ASLA, senior landscape architect at Gresham Smith. “We have an opportunity to move the needle on an important local issue and bring light to the fact that this initiative deserves designated funding. Our team is honored to help shape Louisville’s future health and quality of life.”

On Thursday, March 7, Gresham Smith will kick off the multi-day workshop with a “creek crawl” to gather knowledge and a visioning session to generate ideas. The following day the team will be hard at work, but the doors will be open and the community is encouraged to stop by. On Saturday, March 9, the Gresham Smith team will present the vision to community members and civic leaders before discussing recommendations and plans for short, medium and long-term implementation.

 

Workshop details are as follows:

Thursday, March 7

Creek Crawl at Joe Creason Park

1297 Trevilian Way, Louisville, Ky.

8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.

 

Visioning Session at New Directions Housing Corporation

1000 East Liberty St., Louisville, Ky.

5 p.m. – 7 p.m.

 

Friday, March 8

Open Studio at New Directions Housing Corporation

1000 East Liberty St., Louisville, Ky.

1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

 

Saturday, March 9

Presentation and Celebration at Mile Wide Brewery

636 Barret Ave., Louisville, Ky.

4 p.m.

 

The Congress for the New Urbanism is the nation’s oldest international nonprofit working to build walkable, vibrant neighborhoods. The organization’s annual Congress is the premier placemaking event, convening interdisciplinary urbanists and placemakers to exchange ideas, explore urban places, and work alongside residents to create walkable cities, towns and neighborhoods. Since 2015, CNU Legacy Projects have connected leading design firms across the nation with government officials, placemaking advocates, nonprofit organizations and community members to solve local design issues in the host region of the annual Congress.