Evaluating ULI Recommendations for 2nd Ave
By Gretchen Trast, Research Fellow
5 min read On April 23, the ULI Advisory Services Panel presented their recommendations for rebuilding 2nd Avenue. At the Civic Design Center, we wanted to compare the findings and recommendations of ULI to the voices of community members, who expressed their thoughts at the 2nd Avenue listening sessions to invite continued conversation about the future of 2nd Avenue.
ULI rendering showing riverfront and streetscaping improvements to 2nd Ave N and related areas.
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is a nonprofit and research membership organization whose mission is to “shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide” and has a local Nashville chapter. ULI's Advisory Services met with ULI Nashville, Metro Nashville, and other Nashville leadership to develop recommendations for the future of Second Avenue.
Comparing the analysis of 2nd Avenue listening session findings to the ULI presentation, most of the significant topics were addressed directly by ULI and at least all the recommendations were considered by at least one person in the listening sessions. The summary of the listening sessions was organized by topic of the themes of Shaping Healthy Communities that will be considered here. As a reminder, the following themes were categorized by listening session participants as the following:
Neighborhood Design and Development as a High Priority
Walkability and Pedestrian Safety to Redevelop
Open Space and Parks as a Necessary Investment
Transportation in need of an Impact Assessment
Food Resources to Strengthen Existing Establishments
Housing as a Low Priority
(1 hour video)
Findings Mutually Agreed Upon
Neighborhood Design and Development
ULI image showing “Historic Heart” of Downtown Nashville
Recommendations to preserve the Built Environment’s Identity were identical. Both the listening session participants and ULI put heavy emphasis on highlighting this space for both locals and tourists that is rooted in history. ULI mentioned historic preservation should be prioritized for architectural style regarding preserving the building facades and historical height. One thing that was more heavily stressed by ULI than in the listening sessions was the area’s branding and renaming streets.
Open Space and Parks
ULI image showing important connections that could be made
Another element addressed was increasing the porosity, or the physical connections, between 1st and 2nd Avenue. This would enhance the connection between 2nd Avenue and the riverfront and public square. ULI mentioned precedents of Franklin Park in Washington DC, Downtown Silver Springs Maryland, and Bryant Park in New York, New York that engaged in similar efforts.
Walkability & Pedestrian Safety
ULI image showing streetscaping to enhance connections
For enhancing walkability, both agreed to increasing the number of trees and having a planter program. Listening session participants more strongly advocated for planting trees in ‘heat zones’ such as the surface level parking lots. Street engagement, such as museums, walking tours, historical markers, and public art were addressed by both groups. Further, everyone also agreed on the need to engage the AT&T building. ULI suggested projecting televised events onto the building such as sports games while session participants considered public art. A recommendation by listening session participants that wasn’t considered by ULI was having pop-up shops.
Food Resources
ULI image showing how parklets could be used to created alfresco café dining
Dining style was a major highlight of both the listening sessions and ULI’s presentation. The process for developing the environment to be suitable for outdoor dining was a very valuable part of ULI’s presentation.
Conflicting Findings
The ULI recommendations presented may compelling ideas, however, there were some thoughts that were presented in the listening sessions that should be explored further.
Civic Design Center Rendering from the publication Alleyways of Nashville connecting 2nd Ave N to the alleyway network at Banker’s Alley
Open Space and Parks
Before and after alley activation rendering of alley parallel to the west side of 2nd Ave N from Alleyways of Nashville
While porosity was considered, or the physical considerations between 1st and 2nd, listening session participants were very clear about both porosity and permeation, or the cohesiveness in activity, between the two streets and open areas. Further consideration should be given to implications of increasing porosity as it related to programming, dining, or neighborhood design. More broadly, the alley network was something identified by listening session participants that went unaddressed by ULI.
Map from the Civic Design Center’s Banker’s Alley publication that explores activation alleyways Downtown.
Both listening session participants and ULI mentioned needing to connect both sides of the riverfront to have the most successful area activation plan. Listening session participants promoted cohesion among both East and West Banks; however, did not provide any design suggestions. Alternatively, ULI mentioned specific projects that were capital intensive such as the implementation of a water ferry. However, this suggestion remains at odds with what participants had said, which is to prioritize 2nd avenue and keep costs low for river engagement. To make sense and resolve any dissonance, degrees of capital intensity and method for river engagement will need to be directly addressed.
ULI image that suggest water transportation across the Cumberland to the East Bank
Walkability and Pedestrian Safety
Walkability suggestions had the most dissonance between ULI and listening session participant recommendations. Overall, listening session participants mostly suggested redevelopment of the street to make it more pedestrian-centric and the tangible suggestions for a safer pedestrian experience by them were:
Replace pavers with something that matches neighborhood identity, but is safer to walk on (especially when wet)
Widen sidewalks
Increase pedestrian crossings
Increased lighting
Civic Design Center proposal for tactical urbanism (experimental) artistic crossings on 2nd Ave N
In contrast, ULI suggested the opposite: to put more pavers down by replacing the concrete. Additionally, sidewalks were suggested only to be widened in selected spots such as corners, through “bump-outs.” Lighting was not mentioned in these recommendations. Lighting was mostly described as a feature of security and safety as well as engagement opportunity by public listening session participants. They felt that more lighting would decrease opportunities for crime and increase pedestrian’s sense of safety making walking at night a more enjoyable experience. Further, participants felt that lighting would also invite people from Broadway to explore up the street towards the public square to increase pedestrian traffic overall.
ULI rendering of streetscaping suggestions at the intersection of 2nd Ave N and Commerce St
Further Exploration
Last, there were themes that were largely not addressed by ULI including transportation, food resources, and housing which were discussed in the public listening sessions.
Transportation
Design concept from FABL for different uses of the street on 2nd ave N
Many listening session participants suggested eliminating on-street parking altogether which was not addressed in the recommendations. ULI did not discuss traffic directions or limited street uses while many listening session participants explored what it could look like for only transit access or to make it a pedestrian mall with no traffic. However, ULI considered temporary street closings for events that could “move in the direction of permanent [street] closures.” Curb management was a high priority for 2nd Avenue business owners, though was vaguely mentioned by ULI. Overall, listening session participants agreed that changes in transportation infrastructure need assessment for potential impacts on both business owners and consumers.
FABL rendering of various transportation uses on 2nd Ave N
Food Resources
Food was discussed in the listening sessions as it related to the participant's connection to place and how participants wanted to strengthen existing restaurant establishments. Participants in the public listening sessions had also asked for a variety of food options throughout the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as fine dining vs casual).
Housing
This theme was the least considered theme in the listening sessions and was overall determined to be a low priority among participants. ULI strongly emphasized “mixed use” zoning. The purpose of emphasizing mixed-use is somewhat unclear since 2nd Avenue is already zoned for mixed-use. Last, the most significant part of housing were considerations, primarily from business owners, for unhoused residents having access to proper resources and overall enhancing the safety for everybody. This includes prevention strategies to decrease incidents of police interaction with unhoused people and crime.
Moving Forward
In conclusion, the findings between ULI and the community feedback from listening sessions must be considered together and places, where there was a lack of agreement, should be thoroughly explored. This includes:
Streetscape and Street Uses
Connections between 2nd Avenue and 1st Avenue
Riverfront Engagement
Want to learn more about our community engagement and visioning efforts for restoring 2nd Ave?