Designing Local

We are excited to share our recently completed Wayfinding Strategy for the City of Westerville, Ohio. This supports an initiative to improve wayfinding across the City’s trail network so that residents and visitors can confidently navigate the system, identify trails, and easily access local amenities and destinations. This plan aligns with the Central Ohio Greenways (COG) Wayfinding Strategy Guide to ensure consistency within the broader regional network.

In addition to maps and signage, the plan emphasizes placemaking, public art, and other creative features that enhance trail identity, improve navigation, and create memorable user experiences. With 13 existing creative elements already located along the Central Ohio section of the Ohio to Erie Trail, Westerville has an opportunity to expand this collection. The plan also includes a demonstration park site illustrating how public art and placemaking can create engaging trail destinations throughout Westerville and Central Ohio.

To read the full plan, please follow this URL:

https://www.designinglocal.com/work-portfolio/westerville-wayfinding-strategy

We are delighted to share that the City of Orem, Utah unanimously adopted the Orem Heart Downtown Master Plan. This plan envisions a dynamic, family-friendly, and economically vibrant downtown core, seamlessly integrating the arts, recreation, education, entertainment, and retail to forge a distinct sense of place for both residents and visitors.

This comprehensive plan outlines a framework for advancing the Downtown vision by proposing incremental phasing and a blend of public and private investment. It identifies potential project sequencing, implementation considerations, and a menu of funding tools and revenue strategies that may be evaluated as opportunities arise. Rather than prescribing a single path forward, the plan emphasizes flexibility, coordination, and shared responsibility, providing a roadmap for aligning future decisions with the community's long-term goals.

To read the full plan, please copy the URL below:

https://www.designinglocal.com/work-portfolio/orem-heart-downtown-master-plan

A special mention to all of our collaborators:

Shalae Larsen, ASLA, PLA and Mackenzie Yeager of Io LandArch

Jake McIntire of Union Creative

Greg Nelson and Tyson Grant, P.E. of Horrocks

Susan Becker, AICP of Zion's Public Finance

How can commemorative projects reshape our cities — and who gets reflected in public space?

Join the Central Park Conservancy and Urban Design Forum for an evening conversation exploring how designers, artists, and communities across the country are reimagining memorials and civic spaces to honor overlooked histories, confront contested legacies, and create more inclusive public realms. We are so thrilled for Designing Local Managing Principal & Co-Founder Amanda Golden and collaborator Kimberly Danielle to be featured as key speakers, discussing our Reimagining Columbus project. Please join us!

📍 The Greene Space, 44 Charlton Street
�📅 June 11, 2026
�⏰ Doors open at 6:00 PM | Program begins at 6:30 PM
�🎟️ Free admission

To RSVP and learn more, please follow the URL below:

https://www.centralparknyc.org/activities/events/shaping-public-memory-lessons

We are excited to share that the City of New Braunfels, Texas has unanimously adopted the 2026 Arts and Culture Master Plan (ACMP), a comprehensive roadmap designed to guide arts and cultural development in the community for the next 15 years. New Braunfels City Council unanimously approved the plan at their meeting on April 27th, 2026, establishing a long-term strategy to strengthen the City’s arts and cultural sector.

The Arts and Culture Master Plan outlines ways to support local artists and cultural organizations, encourage the development of creative spaces, foster collaboration among public, nonprofit, and private partners, and leverage the creative sector to strengthen the local economy, quality of life, and sense of place.

Organized around four priority areas — Programming and Community Experiences, Places and Spaces, Visibility and Tourism, and Organizational Capacity — the plan charts short-, medium-, and long-term strategies to grow the cultural ecosystem, support the artists and organizations already doing the work, and position New Braunfels as a cultural anchor for the Texas Hill Country and a leader in arts investment.

To read the full plan on our website, please copy the URL below:

https://www.designinglocal.com/work-portfolio/new-braunfels-arts-and-culture-plan

The City of Port St. Lucie is seeking an artist or artist team to conceptualize, fabricate, and install a newly-commissioned sculpture at the Torino Parkway roundabout (“Project Site”). Construction is projected for completion in summer 2027. In alignment with Port St. Lucie’s Public Art Plan, the sculpture should reflect the character of Port St. Lucie and enhance the City’s visual landscape. Specific goals for the artwork at the new roundabout include:

* Express the unique identity of Port St. Lucie
* Offer a visually stimulating, transformative, and inspiring experience
* Enhance traffic and pedestrian safety
* Enliven the built environment

To learn more, please copy the URL below, or email [email protected] for any inquiries!

https://www.designinglocal.com/artist-calls/portstlucie-roundabout-sculpture