The Bottom: Urban Structure and Guidelines

The Bottom: Urban Structure and Guidelines

The Dallas City Council approved The Bottom Urban Structure and Guidelines (US&G), after more than two years of planning and input from residents, business owners, landowners, investors and community stakeholders.

“This was a collaborative effort with involvement from community stakeholders and numerous city departments,” said Brent Brown, Director of cityDesign studio.

The collaborative, community-based planning process, guided by the cityDesign studio, sets a vision for an area on the banks of the Trinity River, just five minutes from downtown. The 126-acre neighborhood is rich in history, but has steadily declined in population. Roughly 70 percent of the properties are vacant or poorly maintained single family lots.

The Bottom US&G is a different approach to neighborhood planning. Design plays a key role in the facilitation of ideas. It offers a clear vision for change while challenging past redevelopment trends.

“This plan offers not only a guide for future development”, said Vincent Parker, Pastor of Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church, “but protection of this neighborhood.”

The plan is a snapshot of the community’s vision that will evolve over time. The conceptual drawings represent one of countless possible development outcomes, but at the heart of the plan are four fundamental objectives:

1. Preserve and enhance existing single-family neighborhoods
2. Develop quality market and affordable housing, increasing density as development moves toward I-35
3. Create pedestrian and vehicular connections linking existing services, amenities, and streets, especially those that dead end into the levee
4. Make 8th Street a vibrant, engaging street

“The approval of this plan marks a key milestone in this process, but we cannot stop here”, said Brent Brown. The realization of the vision requires a shift in the redevelopment process and diligent efforts from the City and community stakeholders working together.

Urban Structure & Guidelines – full version
Urban Structure & Guidelines – guidebook

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