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The Auburn Center for Architecture and Urban Studies (AUCUS), Region 2020 and the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPC) formed a partnership in August 2003 to create the Center for Regional Planning and Design.
The partners envision the Center as a resource and convening place for people who want to build better communities. The space brings together government entities, civic groups, neighborhood organizations, businesses and citizens to develop and coordinate plans and programs to enhance neighborhoods, towns and cities.
Although housed in downtown Birmingham, the center is being designed in such a way as to reflect its owners, which include communities, counties and citizens throughout Central Alabama.
Guin Robinson, executive director of Region 2020, described the center as a "neutral space that belongs to governments and citizens in the region."
The partners are soliciting funds to expand and support the Center. Plans call for a state-of-the-art regional community conference center that would include videoconferencing capabilities, a town hall space, small meeting space and interactive workspace.
"The Center brings together resources that can better serve communities and it makes those resources more accessible," said Larry Watts, executive director of RPC. "Our vision was to create a working environment that was collaborative, and could add to the quality of the work and make it more cost effective."
The Region 2020 and RPC partnership makes sense, because the two organizations already work closely on several regional projects. The Auburn Center's expertise in planning and design will be a valuable asset in helping to achieve the Region 2020 initiatives.
"We really do have common goals of improving the quality of life through good planning and design, and creating good choices for people doing development or redevelopment," said Cheryl Morgan, Auburn Center director.
