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In October 2003, the City of Birmingham hired UDA -- one of the premier planning firms in the United States -- to complete work on the City Center Master Plan.
The work by Pittsburgh-based UDA was done over about a year and involved several public meetings. UDA presented a proposed final draft in October 2004. UDA is known for its citizen involvement in preparing its recommendations, and hundreds of ideas were expressed at public meetings that were part of the initial work to update the Master Plan, which was last updated in 1991.
The goal of the update is to guide future development of the City Center, which is a major tax base and visitor destination for the region.
“The citizens of Birmingham have a unique opportunity to participate in the future planning of their downtown,” Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid said at the start of the work in January. “We are committed to having an open and inclusive process that results in real improvements that benefit our entire community.”
Members of UDA’s consultant team include: Kerns Pearson Inc., Birmingham, landscape design; NHB Group LLC, Birmingham, architecture; Economics Research Associates, Washington D.C., commercial market study; Zimmerman Volk Associates, Clinton, N.J., residential market analysis; Glatting Jackson, Orlando, FL, transportation planning.
The Master Plan update steering committee co-chairs are: Steve Yoder, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, AmSouth Bank; Carol Garrison, President, University of Alabama at Birmingham; and Marsha Johnson, vice president, Birmingham Division, Alabama Power.
For more details on what residents, business owners and others say they want for the future of downtown, and for continual updates on UDA’s work, go to the Operation New Birmingham (ONB) website, www.yourcitycenter.com, and click on “Master Plan.”
The ONB site also has a list of frequently asked questions about the process, and provides a way for citizens to e-mail comments directly to UDA (under the section “How can I get Involved”).
Region 2020 is a co-sponsor of the planning process, and was a co-convener of the meetings with the City of Birmingham and Operation New Birmingham.
The health of downtown Birmingham is critical to the region’s success, said Region 2020 executive director Ann Florie. “Downtown is the ‘living room’ of the region, its cultural as well as its economic center.”
One of the goals set by citizens during the Region 2020 visioning process was to create downtowns that are “vibrant, safe, attractive, and accessible with diverse cultural entertainment, expanded business opportunities and historic preservation programs.”
Click
here for more information on the Birmingham City Center Master
Plan »
