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| Lawrence
- The Charrettes and Plan Implementations |
Para informacion en español
The two Lawrence UrbanRiver Visions charrettes were great successes. Enthusiastic participants at each workshop generated ideas for new multi-use open spaces and housing opportunities and business ventures at the two ends of the Spicket River. Connecting neighborhoods and the community to the River and/or the Canal was a strong theme throughout all the discussions and planning.
The Lawrence Gateway Charrette took place on Saturday, November 16, 2002 and attracted community residents, city officials, local community development organizers and planners, artists, museum staff, property and business owners. They brainstormed in small group discussions, resulting in visions for the Canal as well as the banks of the Spicket and Merrimack Rivers.
Some of the key recommendations that emerged from the charrette included:
- Creating a mixed use district that includes business, retail, housing, cultural, artistic, and open spaces that draw Lawrence’s existing residents and workers to the area.
- Create open vistas, walkways and parks along the banks of the Spicket and Merrimack Rivers where people can take advantage of the natural beauty.
- Building on the beauty and heritage of the historic buildings, the canal and
its bridges, with creative building uses (retail and housing,
meeting areas, poetry performance and children’s center), and
dramatic lighting and decorations along the bridges and canal
that celebrate the stories of people and past events (Bread &
Roses, immigrants).
The Lawrence Arlington District Charrette took place on Monday, November 18, 2002 and brought an eager group of residents and city officials to the Arlington Street School. They were excited to talk about and map a number of ideas. Their recommendations included:
- Using the vacant land adjacent to the Spicket River for community open space to accommodate a mix of active and passive recreational facilities.
- Creating a continuous pathway along the Spicket River with links to the school and Stevens Pond, and perhaps incorporating new pedestrian bridges across the river.
- Rehabing existing buildings along Broadway or using vacant areas for mixed uses with retail on the ground floor and apartments above.
- Building new housing, especially moderate-income homes on some of the vacant lots in the neighborhood, and accomplishing this by working with landowners and the city.
For more information on Lawrence, including buildout maps and statistics,
please visit EOEEA's Smart Growth and Urban Environments resource
page for Lawrence.
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Learn more about UrbanRiver Visions on the EOEEA Smart
Growth and Urban Environments website.
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