How can a sprawling suburban county retrofit itself with a new downtown? And how can a public art and placemaking strategy parallel a development process that is likely to take many years?
Largo is in Prince Georges County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. As in so many places, infrastructure has been its destiny. Fifty years ago, not long after the completion of Washington’s Beltway, farmland there was developed into the region’s premier sports and concert arena. In 2004, the Blue Line of Washington’s Metrorail system was extended to Largo, setting the stage for redevelopment of the area. County plans now call for multifamily housing and retail, government and medical services organized in a grid of walkable blocks.
As early phases of development fall into place, the County is now asking how a new type of infrastructure, public art and placemaking, can be part of Largo’s future. Toole Design Group was chosen to lead a broad wayfinding, placemaking and branding plan, and has asked Bressi to lead up the public art and placemaking efforts. Jonathan Mugmon, creator of the Legible London program, is heading up the wayfinding efforts.
Largo’s urban design challenges here are considerable, and revolve around the scale of what’s developed, the grain of the mix of uses, and the consistency of the public realm design.
The placemaking challenges here are no less considerable. Largo is in a position to embrace the newest thinking about placemaking, which has evolved from urban design and visual strategies, to projects that explore community memories and narratives, to grassroots efforts to promote social, economic and environmental change. This will require not only new infrastructure, but also deep and patient thinking about who the County’s new downtown will be serving, and how.
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