A Discovery-Led Framework for Vibrant Downtown Development

Browning Day is crafting the future of communities around the state of Indiana. We approach each place with a fresh perspective, working hand in hand to guide the city to a design and vision that is bespoke to their culture and history, their unique public and private development needs, and their own sense of place.

We start this approach with discovery. Together with the city leadership, public stakeholders, and community members, we look at the existing context and frameworks of the city, examining what systems and places are working and which ones leave something to be desired. Discovering those foundational places and spaces that can be built upon in the planning process is key; every community has things they treasure, and we work to craft the new vision around and through those places and experiences.

The discovery phase leads to a series of challenges to overcome in the downtown transformation. We view these as opportunities in disguise and as benchmarks for the success of the vision. They are unique from place to place in scope and scale but generally fall into several categories:

Walkability – Is this a place you feel comfortable walking from place to place?
Sense of Place – Is there a clear identity of your community?
Housing Availability – Are there enough housing options?
Retail Identity – Does downtown have a clear direction for retail?
Green Places for People and Nature – Does the downtown embrace green places and assets already in the community?
Infrastructure of Connectivity – Are there adequate ways for all the modes of transportation to overlap and interact?

We take those challenges and craft solutions with our community partners. Then we test those solutions; does the solution create moments for transformation over time and are there the development partners and conditions present for those solutions to occur? We examine ways in which the downtown vision can encourage the correct development solutions in the correct places and moments.

Our work with communities builds towards visions that are aspirational and achievable. A downtown vision is only successful if people want to live, shop, work, and explore there. Our solutions look different for every community – vision plans might be focused on crafting places, or on zoning and mechanisms, or on infrastructure and foundational frameworks, or on all of the above. Even so, no vision is the final say in the future of a place. The plans need to evolve over time, and that requires maintenance and partnership with city officials, development partners, and the community. We can help bring those partners together, ensuring the success and vision for the new downtown far into the future.