Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Blake M. Belanger / The main streets of the Rocky Mountain West are the social, economic, and
cultural centers of their respective communities. Often, these main streets may deteriorate
or become abandoned as a result of edge shopping malls and strip style economic
development. Thus, a downtown or main street redevelopment effort by the community
can help to ensure these economic centers remain. Yet, too often, the redevelopment
efforts are oversimplified and fail to integrate the most current street development
principles and design initiatives that can benefit not only the community but also the
surrounding environment.
I n the modern American city, almost half of all daily trips are less than three miles
and a third are under one mile. (McCann 2010) “These are distances easily traversed by
foot or bicycle, yet 65 percent of trips under one mile are made by automobile.” (McCann
2010) This mobility trend has led to the foundation of programs and organizations that try
to promote non-motorized travel. Although these initiatives respond to the human/physical
environment, they are far from comprehensive. Today, an integration of smart ecological
ideals is essential.
How can the revitalization efforts of Rocky Mountain communities be guided to
ensure they consider not only the built environment; but also the natural environment? The
face of the future main street will be multi-modal and ecologically responsible. Yet, there
is presently no clear method of combining the two. A union of the multi-modal principles
behind Complete Streets and the ecologically responsible ideals green infrastructure can
provide a framework for a new and more inclusive redevelopment approach.
The merging of modern ecological and street design principles can lead to a
comprehensive Main Street redevelopment program and therefore successfully guide the
revitalization efforts of small Rocky Mountain communities in a way that is responsive to
future development needs as well as the cultural and ecological aspects of the region.
Main Street Evolved will provide a set of tools to guide Colorado Rocky Mountain Main
Street redevelopment efforts by providing strategies and implementation guidelines
that focus on balancing multi-modal ideals and ecological stormwater management
techniques within a small-town mountain context.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:KSU/oai:krex.k-state.edu:2097/8563 |
| Date | January 1900 |
| Creators | Murner, Cory James |
| Publisher | Kansas State University |
| Source Sets | K-State Research Exchange |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Report |
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