Canter Group Planning & Design Blog

Proof from outside my office.  Accessibility for man and beast.  This family gathered on the walk, then got bored and stood in the street.  A passing car stopped and honked;  a move that was probably misinterpreted.   Another group joined them in the street from across the way, then they all waited.   Another honk from the car, and they all used the roadway for a runway, and were in V formation before they were 3 feet off the ground.

This pelican sculpture is repeated at several locations in Market Square, a local shopping area.   The nest below the pelican is made of reinforcing bar. (Rebar).  Liriope muscari is planted along side the pier posts.

          Maclay gardens, located in Tallahassee, Florida  is a remarkable example of landscape architecture.  Since the State of Florida acquired the property in 1994, the gardens and park were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Killearn Plantation Archeological and Historic District. 1      According to the State of Florida, Maclay Gardens, part of a 1,184-acre state park, located in Tallahassee, Florida, was once home to Native Americans.  In 1825, the site became part of a land grant to the Marquis de Lafayette, and until the late 1800’s was occupied by a community of farmers (owners as well as tenant farmers) and their employees. 2      After operating as a quail plantation, the land was purchased by Alfred Maclay, a New York financier, in 1923 and used as a family retreat and hunting lodge.  1 http://www.floridastateparks.org/resources/doc/individualparks/bro...

Historic Jekyll Island is located on the Georgia Coast.  The center of the Island, the Jekyll Island Club Historic District has been listed since 1978 in the National Register of Historic Places.  Although it’s owned by the State of Georgia, a small amount of commercial and residential development is allowed. Also located near the Historic District is the ruins of the Horton House, occupied by Major William Horton (ca. 1742).  The Jekyll Island Authority and the Fanning Institute are currently working on their 2010 Master Plan. LINK: http://www.jekyllislandhistory.com/index.shtml Master Plan Site: http://www.jekyllmasterplan.org/

Mission San Luis was built in 1633 in what is now Tallahassee, Florida, about 2 miles from the Capitol.  In 1704 it was evacuated and burned to keep it from falling into the hands of British and Creek Indian raiders.  Beginning in 1996, Renker Eich Parks Architects, of St. Petersburg, Florida, with Herchel Sheperd, FAIA, undertook designing the reconstruction of many of the buildings in the mission using archeological and historical evidence to conjecture the architecture of the buildings to how they would originally have been built. The buildings that have since been reconstructed include the Church, the Convento, the Council House, the Chief's House, the Fort and Blockhouse, and a typical Spanish House as well as many minor features around the site.- ( Wikipedia Article Link )   Reconstructed Council House Council House Interior Council House Interior-Roof Blacksmith Shop Fort with dry moat Church Interior Church Interior Spanish House Spanish House ...

I grew up in a small town outside of Nashville Tennessee. Since it was the County Seat, the courthouse was, like in many small towns, located on a square in the center of town. On many mornings, you could find the city elders (not the politicians) sitting together on benches outside the courthouse with pocketknives, blocks of pine and the problems of the world to solve. I suppose each shaving cut from the pine carried with it, as it fell, a part of whatever problem that was being discussed, until there was nothing but the pile left at the men’s feet. Whether it just became impractical, or was finally prevented by some city ordinance, the elders stopped meeting there long ago. Although the meeting place has changed to a local fast-food restaurant, there are still elders meeting nearly every morning discussing the news and issues of the day; and a new batch of young guys (in their 60’s) constantly filling the places of those who are gone. My Dad, now in his eighties, has met with these...

         

  The following was a short discussion on Linked In "The creation of community --fundamentally based on the relations between people -- is largely beyond the reach of government... and the sooner we understand that the better. Otherwise we'll wait a long time for government (or any other large organization, for that matter) to build urban villages, and then they may be named Potemkin."--David Sucher in "City Comforts. How To Build An Urban Village" A fine book, full of great photos and suggestions. I've found that illustrations are some of the greatest tools in working with clients to see possibilities and consider options beyond their current experience...and they often work far better than the regulatory hammer Pete Pointner FAICP, ALA, ITE • Jim, Government controls land use; the type, pattern, density, quality and timing of development. Not all governments want to exercise their authority or do so badly, agreed. But are you saying that the physic...

In Response to City Shaped Design , which offers furniture in the shape of urban scenes, I offer a building in the shape of furniture….

Just after Christmas this year, I drove from Tallahassee to my hometown, Gallatin. I was surprised to see that the small square had been renovated. Huge Bradford pear trees that had obscured the art deco style courthouse had been replaced with Eastern Redbud trees and (what appeared to be) East Palatka Holly. In addition, the streetscape had been significantly altered to provide widened sidewalks, mid-block crossings, improved parallel parking, etc. I was able to meet with Jim Svoboda, the Community Development Coordinator for Gallatin to find out more. In a time when these types of changes to downtowns may be seen as just more government social engineering, it looks like this town got it right from the beginning.