Old-Town Boundary

This alt. series visualizes how placemaking methods would work in our daily urban settings.

Many [city periphery] textures are often forgotten as urban cores get more developed. Places like the photo below were diagonal streets formed initially to define the edge of Washington DC. Today, this street has become part of the downtown fabric as the city grows. What if we design a type of pavement that kept the old city context but also served to compliment an upcoming new development?

Old Boundary

Florida Avenue is a major street in Washington, D.C. It was initially named "Boundary Street" because it formed the northern boundary of Pierre L'Enfant's original plan for the Federal City. Even nowadays, the city has grown over this north boundary; Florida Avenue still represents its contextual significance.

• See where this place is on the Story Map and Google Map.

Anthony Bowen YMCA

In 1853, Anthony Bowen broke new ground when he founded the nation's first African American YMCA on 12th street.

This country's first African-American YMCA became a social hub, with meeting spaces for civil-rights activists and a rec center where friends played cards or took classes.

Nowadays, Anthony Bowen's YMCA on W street inspires us with the history of this place.

Move on the Ground

The design tailors both "Y’s social movement" and the "Pan-African flag's color" art into the place. The dance movements inspire the angle shape. The pavement's color is inspired by the Pan-African color: red, yellow, and green. Red symbolizes "fighting for freedom," yellow means "the mineral wealth," and green is for "the natural fertility of Africa."

Did you know? The lighter-colored surface could help increase reflectance and reduce the absorption of solar radiation. Material with a higher Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) can mitigate the urban heat island effect and cause a less disorienting impact on animals. (Site Design- Soil+ Vegetation)

More resources see EPA using cool pavement to reduce heat islands.