Birmingham Northwest Downtown Development Plan Birmingham, Alabama

Services Provided

Master Planning
Cultural Planning
Streetscape Planning & Design
Public Realm & Identity Improvements
Community Engagement

People Involved

Andrew Overbeck
Darren Meyer
Luis Calvo
Brenda Diaz-Flores
Donald Zellefrow
Sarah Lilly
Hoating Shi

Plan Document

Birmingham Northwest Downtown Development Plan

Re-energizing an urban neighborhood with a rich background into a cultural arts hub.

The Northwest Downtown Development Plan was an 18-month community-based process for aligning future investment and development in the Civil Rights District and the Switch with the community’s vision for this locally- and internationally-significant place. MKSK’s effort built on recent planning projects, including Freedom Walk and the City Center Master Plan, to create a clear road map for implementing the community’s aspiration for these urban districts, better connecting the Northwest Downtown area to adjacent neighborhoods, and addressing meaningful questions about goals for equitable development.

In collaboration with neighborhood residents, the faith community, and the business community, MKSK prepared an investment and development strategy supported by an Equitable Development Toolkit.

Led by Development Strategies, a core partner in the MKSK consultant team, the Equitable Development Toolkit put forth 6 goals and presents policy, governance, organizational, and financial tools for each:

Preventing Displacement
Community Wealth-Building
Black-Owned Business Support
Mixed-Income Development
Public Realm and Identity
Entrepreneur and Start-up Support

With the Equitable Development Toolkit as the foundation and specific action items of the NWDT Plan to help guide near term decision-making, the place-based community development organizations of Urban Impact and REV Birmingham are continuing the good work aimed towards inclusive growth and community wellbeing.