ULI Washington’s Placemaking Initiative Council provides a forum where public and private sectors come together to share best practices in land use planning, urban design, and mixed-use development to create and implement temporary and permanent placemaking projects

This year, the Initiative Council brought members and leading place-makers from the Washington region together at our offices and beyond.

Kicking off the year, the Initiative Council held a panel on the role of universities in placemaking throughout the Washington region including Deborah Crawford of George Mason, Katie Tom Parker and Katie Gerbes of Terrapin Development Association with the University of Maryland, and Samuel Swiller of Gallaudet University. Panelists discussed topics including the construction of academic buildings off campus, reinvigorating retail and shopping districts for students and residents, as well as accessibility design principles to those living with disabilities.

In December our Council members traveled to Ballston Quarter, previously the Ballston Common Mall, in Arlington. After sharing a breakfast, the group met with Francesca Franchi of the Retail Design Collaborative and her staff. The group presented on the history of the site, and the conversion from a traditional shopping mall to a mixed-use retail, housing, and office development. Members had the opportunity to join Retail design Collaborative Staff on a walking tour of the site, and ask specific development questions to those working on it.

Members noted their interest in topics around accessibility and design that were touched on in the Council’s first meeting, and focused their February meeting on Accessibility and Placemaking for Hearing and Vision Impaired Users. Sam Swiller of Galludet returned alongside designer Chris Garwood of Davis Carter Scott. The who shared a number of design techniques utilized in their projects that members can make use of in their own work.