Urban Design Studio: A downtown transit center that reacts to urban challenges by integrating infrastructure and public space to activate the pedestrian experience

Design Team Members: JoAnne K. Fiebe, Ashly F. Anderson

The north end of downtown Tampa which buffers the central busienss district lacks dimension. The 80-block site was severed by a major interstate highway in the 1960's. It has since suffered from disinvestment and poorly conceived infrastruture improvements designed to move commuters from the interstate through the north end to downtown offices. The area is more than 50% covered in surface parking; however, it does contain a relatively intact and historic urban grid.

The proposed high speed rail station will be a catalyst for a significant shift from an area littered with yards of asphalt to a walkable, connected, and integrated uptown district. It must take advantage of this opportunity to develop urban and ecological infrastructure as well as meaningful public space that begins to stitch the urban and natural environments together.