SCAPE returned to Pensacola this week to kick off a five-month study of the city’s downtown waterfront. The team was previously in Pensacola in August, for the annual CivicCon workshop series, and will continue working with Pensacola residents, agencies, and city officials to envision a new waterfront open space that is socially equitable, ecologically productive, and resilient to future urban and ecological change. For the waterfront study, SCAPE is working with James Lima of James Lima Planning and Development and Steve Dana of Jerry Pate Company, and is generously supported by Quint and Rishy Studer.
During this visit, the team participated in another CivicCon public forum and held a series of presentations and workshops with different groups. These included a workshop at the West Florida Highschool of Advanced Technology, where they met with student government representatives who shared their aspirations for the city’s waterfront, focusing on opportunities to access and play in/with the water. The team also held a workshop with representatives of neighborhood associations of several waterfront neighborhoods including The Tanyard and Belmont-De Villiers, where residents emphasized the importance of African American history and heritage in Pensacola. Check out our Facebook page to see photos from the events, and stay tuned for our next public design workshop.
Photo courtesy of pnj.com and Gregg Pachkowski.