Amanda Popken’s emphasis is on the nexus between quality of life and economic development. Amanda is a LEED Accredited professional with seven years of Economic Development experience with the City of Dallas and the Dallas Regional
Chamber. She has a Masters in City and Regional Planning from
the University of Texas at Arlington and a Bachelor of Arts in
Social Psychology of Cultural Paradigms from the University of
Redlands. She’s traveled to Central America, Europe, and China
studying people and the city’s ability to facilitate vastly different
lifestyles.
[email protected]
A
SH+LIME Strategies is an economic
development consulting firm focused
on supporting incremental improvements at the neighborhood level.
Our approach is rooted in the principles of city
planning and design.
We work with business owners, local creatives,
and other stakeholders to enhance the social
fabric, identify immediate opportunities for improvements, and generate stable economic
growth. We combine expertise in short-term
activation (tactical urbanism) and placemaking
strategies with proficiency in long-term economic
development and neighborhood planning.
Brandon Castillo creates pop-up markets and food festivals
where pedestrian-scale infrastructure facilitates vibrant street
life. Over four years, Brandon developed the Deep Ellum Outdoor Market, a monthly event of local vendors, live music, and
food trucks in an entertainment district in the heart of Dallas.
In 2013, he transformed an independent mailing center into the
Deep Ellum Postal & Grocer, providing post boxes, mailing services, and a convenience store providing healthy foods and local
daily necessities. Brandon graduated from Pitzer College with a
bachelor’s degree in linguistics, and quickly moved to Madrid
where he learned first hand the value and mechanics of good
urbanism.
[email protected]
Rik Adamski focuses his work on placemaking, retail policy,
mapping, and research. He has over ten years of experience
in real estate and planning. Rik has worked for the City of Fort
Worth and the national headquarters of the American Planning
Association (APA), the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU),
and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT). He earned
a Masters in Urban Planning & Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of
Cincinnati. Most recently Rik was the lead coordinator on a fourday, block-long popop park in conjunction with the CNU national conference in Dallas.
[email protected]
In our experience, revitalization requires buy-in
and active engagement from those who invest
their time, money, and energy in a community. As
consultants, we go beyond making recommendations and writing reports. We provide the community with the tools, resources, and inspiration
they need to begin implementation themselves.
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OUR NAME
A
sh and lime were two of the three locally found ingredients that builders in
Ancient Rome used to make concrete. By combining ash, lime, and sea water,
the Romans built cities and structures that have withstood the test of time. Similarly, ASH+LIME Strategies combines simple ingredients that are place-specific
in order to support long lasting economic development and community strength.
Our cities and towns cannot afford risky investments or high-cost plans disconnected
from realistic implementation. Investing in social capital up front attracts and enhances
government and private initiatives, ensuring success and minimizing risk.
MINIMIZING RISK
L
arge investments by the government and
the private sector are by nature risky. Our
team understands the need to minimize
risk by investing resources and attention
into greater, healthier, and more stable communities. We encourage stakeholders to do what they
can with the resources that they immediately have. When a community has banded together and aligned themselves to a common vision,
investing in the vision becomes more attractive.
At least 40% of our contract work consists of direct and indirect observation. We talk to community
stakeholders, observe important sites and events,
study the regulatory framework, and investigate the
character and history of each place. The objective is to
connect people with the planning process and assess
the study area to find quick wins that galvanize the
community.
ASH+LIME’s approach to minimizing risk focuses on
economic development through community development. Our strategy is to implement immediately beneficial projects that inform future development, build on
existing momentum, and involve local advocates in the
community.
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SOCIAL CAPITAL
is the collective value of a community’s social networks employing the will and enthusiasm of
people to invest in local places, small businesses, and other neighborhood assets.
40%
of our contract typically
consists of empirical
investigation
PROCESS
In addition to validating and vetting our observations and assumptions, our conversations
with stakeholders have several key purposes:
• identifying partners and opportunities
• drawing out all perspectives: people’s hopes,
dreams, and visions
• defining the sense of a collective vision while
inspiring them with ideas and how-to
• clarifying issues, gaps, and ideas
We focus on creating
inclusive places for
people young and old
W
hat distinguishes the ASH+LIME model is our process: We employ a tailored approach for each
place that analyzes assets and gaps, builds social capital, and identifies an action plan. We gain
a practical understanding of the social and physical reality through:
•
•
•
•
analysis of relevant data, existing plans, the City’s goals, and the regulatory framework
research and discussion of a place’s history and context
diligent observation and inquiry focused on the details and missing links
community collaboration
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The Action Plan
W
The two most important features of a great place are
the built environment and the people who enjoy it.
e focus on the details, the gaps, the
“low-hanging fruit,” and opportunities for
immediate engagement.
Deliverables
Our services include:
Our model revolves around leveraging the existing
assets, skills, and resources of an area to maximize
the use of resources and create immediate improvements in the physical landscape. For example, temporary demonstration projects are one effective tool
for testing ideas and gaining public support for expensive, high-risk major infrastructure changes. Such
community-driven projects often build broad support
for further investment. In other words, there is no reason to wait for the next $12 million bond package to
improve your place. We can help you start now.
•
•
•
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•
Our partners are part of a network of locally- and
nationally-recognized professionals with expertise
in 21st-Century approaches to storefront revitalization, business incubation, public participation and
placemaking. As such, we are strongly-positioned to
help communities identify the “low-hanging fruit”
projects which can lead to long-term community improvements that increase neighborhood livability and
economic vitality.
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activation and reuse of vacant spaces
business incubation and curation
creation and management of special events and programs
development strategies for incremental, long-term change
demonstration projects and public participation
Depending on the client’s goals, we can
• recommend action plans for the community to
implement
• begin implementation ourselves
• build momentum toward defining/creating a
Comprehensive Plan
SH+LIME develops planning and design recommendations and solutions that are grounded in our
client’s will and vision. Such an approach enables
places to continuously test ideas, collect feedback,
and build support for larger, long-term changes. ASH+LIME’s
approach is to enlighten decision-making and enable the
materialization of the community’s vision in creating great
places.
While no single project can be expected to be a “silver bullet,” a comprehensive
strategy which utilizes the strengths of an area can support a path to long-lasting,
stable, resilient, organic economic growth.
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OUR STRATEGY
CLIENTS’ OBJECTIVES
INQUIRING
SOCIAL FABRIC
INVESTIGATING
LOCATION
DATA
Stakeholders
Place
Plans
Client
Site
Policies
Community
Transportation
Ongoing Projects
Local Creatives
Infrastructure
Studies
Understanding the
Social Fabric
Investigating the
Physical Landscape
WHAT ARE THE
ASSETS and GAPS ?
ASSETS:
Knowing the Regulatory
Context
Infrastructure
Points of Attraction
Economic Generators
Residents/Demographics
Civic/Open Spaces
Cultural Amenities
GAPS:
Physical
Marketing/Branding
Network/Community
Demographic
ANALYZING
IMPLEMENTING
Source: Charlie MG
STAKEHOLDERS
strategic investments
+ recommendations
PLANS AND
POLICIES
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build awareness
+ social capital
PLACE
modeling +
demonstrating
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CASE STUDY: GARLAND, TX
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The Place: Downtown Garland, Texas - a large town, founded in 1891,
The Client: Garland Downtown Business Association (GDBA) and City of
now among the inner-ring suburbs of Dallas.
Garland.
The Process: While talking to stakeholders, we focus on inspiring,
The Plan: Through conversations with City Staff and other stakeholders, we vet
informing and guiding initiatives which can be started independently.
the dozens of ideas we gather from the community and our analysis. We then narrow the scope to five location-specific projects to make immediate improvements
in the downtown using existing resources.
In Garland, community stakeholders quickly embraced our
approach. We advised one property owner to repurpose his
burnt-out, roofless building as a community event space, which has helped revitalize the downtown. Similarly, Garland
stakeholders set up a new monthly market,
installed outdoor ping pong tables, coordinated window displays, built benches from
reclaimed pallets, and worked together to
expand downtown business hours.
All these projects were implemented
before the release of our report. While we
contributed ideas, guidance, and inspiration, downtown business and property
owners were the driving forces behind all
of these.
We identified 62 potential initiatives including
branding, communication, marketing, coordinated business hours, window displays, a downtown
business boot camp, reformation of city ordinances, special events, and various opportunities to
activate underutilized buildings and lots.
The Garland Downtown Business Association
narrowed the list to five “low-hanging fruit” opportunities which would have the most an immediate impact on the downtown. We created specific step-by-step instructions including logistical
details, potential participants, and cost estimates.
Within one week of our report, the Association
started work on our recommendations.
Follow Up - More Resources: Our team’s objective is to write several grant applications for core clients, and advise on effective maximization of the funding.
We worked with the City of Garland to submit a $100,000 grant application which, if awarded, will be strategically
leveraged to enhance the city center.
Follow up - Surrounding Neighborhoods: Follow-up is central to our approach. Integration with adjacent neighborhoods
can catalyze the focus area.
We worked alongside two other firms to lead a community design charrette for a neighborhood immediately east of Downtown Garland. Our firm wrote a number of recommendations for low-cost, potentially high-impact improvements for the
area. The project was hosted through the recent Congress for the New Urbanism’s 23rd conference (CNU 23) held in DFW.
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CASE STUDY: CROWDUS PARK [ DALLAS, TX ]
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The Place: Deep Ellum, a neighborhood immediately adjacent to
Downtown Dallas, has long been known for its vibrant nightlife district
and strong music scene. With new investment and new residents, it’s
becoming a more balanced, complete neighborhood. While Deep Ellum
has many assets, it lacks public civic space in its core.
The Opportunity: For four days in Spring 2015, CNU
23 brought 1,500 of the nation’s leading urban thinkers
to Dallas. As Chair of the CNU North Texas Placemaking
Committee, ASH+LIME partner Rik Adamski was tasked
with holding a high-quality demonstration project to enhance attendees’ experiences and help inform long-term
City policies.
The Challenge: For several years, Deep Ellum leaders
have advocated the conversion of part of Crowdus Street
(an underutilized street at the center of the neighborhood) into an engaging public space. The challenge was
uniting the neighborhood leaders, the City of Dallas, and
members of the community in a single vision.
Partnerships: In order to pull together the four-day
temporary park, ASH+LIME partnered with achitecture
and landscape architecture firms Callison and TBG,
collaborated with The Deep Ellum Foundation and the
Deep Ellum Community Association, negotiated with
the City of Dallas, coordinated 80+ volunteers, and
co-led two community outreach sessions. To cover
expenses, our firm raised over $15,000 through events,
crowdfunding, and sponsorships.
Crowdus Park provided a successful and unprecedented
contribution to the urban street life of Dallas. The space
featured live painting by local artists, music acts ranging
from bluegrass to mariachi, an extensive free library, two film screenings, circus acts, and much more.
The project received substantial local and national media coverage.
Photo by Charlie MG
Photo Courtesy of TBG Partners
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Photo Courtesy of TBG Partners
Photo Courtesy of TBG Partners
AWARDS
In 2015 ASH+LIME was nominated as a finalist for the North Texas Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) inaugural Real Estate
Awards. We were among three finalists in the Next Big Idea category, for our idea entitled Economic Development through
Community Development: A Strategy for Revitalizing Historically Disinvested Neighborhoods.
Photo Courtesy of TBG Partners
Photo Courtesy of TBG Partners
Photo Courtesy of TBG Partners