Midtown Public Spaces

In 1997, the Midtown Alliance embarked upon what would become Blueprint Midtown, a multi-year planning and visioning effort for the diverse urban district of Midtown.

This plan predestined the district to become a dynamic, mixed-use, and pedestrian-friendly urban environment.  As part of this effort, Urban Collage/Lord Aeck Sargent and the Alliance created the Blueprint Midtown Design Standards that would become integrated with the Midtown SPI-16 Zoning Overlay District and eventually adopted by the City of Atlanta in 2001.  Over its first decade in effect, Blueprint Midtown and its regulatory framework helped guide massive and rapid redevelopment throughout the district. 

Over the course of the last 15 years, UC/LAS’ role assisting the Midtown Alliance has expanded beyond planning and development into overseeing design and helping manage an aggressive public space implementation program.  On a day-to-day basis, UC/LAS continues to be heavily involved in many facets of Midtown’s Public Spaces program, from streetscape/park design and construction oversight to funding management and stakeholder outreach. To date, the program has installed over a dozen miles of new sidewalks, over 700 new trees and acres of new park and plaza spaces.