Uptown 23rd Urban Environment Framework
The Urban Environment Framework sets out a basic structure for the design and evolution of the physical environment along 23rd Street. The framework will serve as a tool to guide future development and investment.
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An IQC team worked with the City of Oklahoma City’s Commercial District Revitalization Program and the Uptown 23rd Association. Uptown 23rd is rapidly evolving as an urban commercial district. As changes continue, there is a desire to determine a shared vision for the physical growth and change of the district.
Based on stakeholder input, this Urban Environment Framework sets out a basic structure for the design and evolution of the physical environment along 23rd Street. The framework will serve as a tool to guide future development and investment. It sets the aspirations, structure, and limits in which more detailed work on planning, design, and implementation can take place.
The ideas and aspirations of Uptown 23rd’s property owners, business owners, and visitors guided the development of this framework. Additional collaborators included representatives from neighborhood organizations, business associations, important institutions, and the development community. The planning team gathered information from these groups to learn how people currently view Uptown and how they want to see it grow through an online survey and a series of public and stakeholder meetings. This information was combined with a study of existing conditions and knowledge about best practices from a range of local experts.
Uptown Stakeholders identified the pedestrian experience as the most important priority that is incorporated in the following four major areas of the framework:
- Street Design proposes guiding principles for creating a safe walkable public environment.
- Parking and Business Mix provides an overview of the current parking inventory, projected changes based on future business growth, and strategies to manage parking supply.
- Transportation and Mobility focuses on bicycle and transit networks that enhance accessibility to multi-modal options and commercial development opportunities.
- Building Form and Design considers the key elements of building design that will support a walkable streetscape and allow quality development to coexist with established neighborhoods.