Downtown Alliance hosts top urban planning firm

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The Downtown Mobile Alliance is hosting a top urban planning firm to develop new zoning and development procedures for downtown Mobile.

Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company has offices in Miami, Washington DC and Charlotte and is best known locally for its design of Seaside, Florida.  Urban experts with the firm will spend the next week in Mobile creating a developer-friendly code plan for downtown Mobile.

“What we need to make sure is that when it comes time for people to invest in Mobile and to help make the vision become reality, that the codes streamlines that effort, rather than hinders it,” said Senior Project Manager Scott Ball.

Balls said this type of code-planning takes imagining a new downtown to another level.

"If you just vision a downtown, if you just master plan and vision it, and you don't calibrate your code to that vision, then you've essentially pulled the carpet out from any investor,” said Senior Project Manager Scott Ball.

Downtown Mobile Alliance brought the firm in to help further their vision of a more vibrant downtown.

"What we hope is to develop a plan that will make downtown Mobile more walkable more bikeable andd more developer friendly,” said Communications Director, Carol Hunter.

For the launch of a week full of events, Downtown Mobile Alliance hosted a forum with Architect and urban planner, Andres Duany and Grammy award winning musician, Yo-yo Ma.

Hunter moderated as the two talked about the “soul of the city” and what makes a city come alive.

The public is invited to share their ideas with the urban planners. Click here for the schedule of events.