Wednesday, March 18, 2009

In the works...

No fear everyone! The JCDC is not as dormant as it may appear to be at the moment. We are hard at work scheduling events and teaming up with organizations to increase our involvement in the community. We were lucky to have had a Michael Sorkin (www.sorkinstudio.com), an urban guru from New York, in our studio recently and we discussed the work that has been developed among us, the future of our organization, and the symposium that we have in the works.


In the Fall of 2009, students enrolled in Urban Design in collaboration with the Jackson Community Design Center will continue research initiated by last year’s class which addressed architectural, economic, infrastructural, and zoning conditions along the State Street Corridor in Jackson (that is, all blocks immediately adjacent to State Street from I-20 in the south to County Line Road in the north). While the form and specific content of this research will be determined by the class as a whole through the course of the semester, the measurable output of this work will take the form of a public symposium and exhibition early in the Spring of 2010. By disseminating their findings directly to city and state leaders, interested citizens, and other researchers, students will receive feedback, both practical and theoretical, and reap the benefits of expanding the all-too-often narrow dialogue.

It is our hope that the community at large will choose to participate.


(Excerpt from our letter of intent written by Jassen Callender.)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

How is "mid-size" defined?

Unknown said...

While there is room for additional interpretations, for us the mid-size city is an incorporated area of at least 50,000 and no more than 500,000. This is the population within the city proper. The greater metropolitan area of a mid-size American city might have a population of one million.

Anonymous said...

Pop range too broad to be effective. Big bites are never (rarely) completely chewed. One size might fit everyone but only a small subset well.

Unknown said...

Define "effective".

Anonymous said...

Might benefit from knowing what Baptist's and Behaven's master plan is. So as to include them in the discussion. As they own a lot of the property in the corridor and have some very good ideas for development. Context is important after all. Even if it is the context of the actual owners. If you want public input, talk to the owners and developers about their ideas and dreams on the outset or they will be alienated and the dialogue may be more defensive that you hope.