The Department of Planning and Urban Design is excited to be working with the leadership of the Burton Street Neighborhood Association to identify, document and share information about the history and character defining architecture and streetscapes of the Burton Street neighborhood.
The idea for this project emerged from the I-26 Connector Burton Street Mitigation Working Group, which was formed after the Burton Street neighborhood was identified as an Environmental Justice population, due to recurring impacts from highway construction. The City worked with the NCDOT on the Burton Street Neighborhood Plan in 2018, and identified several mitigation strategies to help offset effects of the I-26 project. One idea was to develop a pattern book, which is a guide that can be used by non architects to build structures and create streetscapes that are reflective of historic neighborhood patterns, which is intended to help the neighborhood deal with physical changes to the character of the neighborhood due to recent development.
The first step of the project is to complete an architectural survey of the neighborhood, building on the survey work that was done in conjunction with the I-26 project. An architectural survey is the systematic process of identifying and recording historic buildings, structures, objects, districts, and sites (both historic and prehistoric) in a given geographic or thematic area. This information will then be used to develop a web-based storymap, which will act as a pattern book.
A story map is a multimedia tool that will allow us to integrate maps, graphics, text, photos and video to tell the story of the historical development of the neighborhood and the people who have lived there. The website will be used as an educational resource, as well as a tool to guide development with the intent to protect and enhance the identity of the historic Burton Street Community.
The Request for Proposals for the architectural survey was released on April 9; find it at this link. For more information, visit this link or contact Alex Cole, Historic Resources Planner: acole@ashevillenc.gov.