Designing Local

What a summer! Look back with us at the people, places, and partnerships that made this season unforgettable.

📍 Denver, Colorado

We traveled to Denver to meet with the Advisory Committee formed by the Denver Arts Council. Together, we’re facilitating community engagement, reconciliation, and reflection around Denver’s monuments. While there, we also had the chance to explore downtown Denver’s incredible public art scene!

📍Howard County, Maryland

We joined community members for the final public event before the Howard County Arts & Culture Plan was submitted to the Howard County Arts Council for review. The gathering was an opportunity to share key recommendations and hear community ideas as Howard County looks toward putting the plan into action over the next 10 years. We’re proud to help shape a vibrant, inclusive, and thriving future for arts and culture.

📍 St. Johns County, Florida

We visited St. Johns County as we partner with the St. Johns Cultural Council to develop a new Arts Plan. From connecting with the Hastings community and reaffirming its Placemaking Plan to meeting with leaders across tourism, parks and recreation, libraries, municipalities, and the arts, the visit highlighted the power of collaboration in shaping a vibrant cultural future.

📍Canal Wi******er, Ohio

We are working with the City of Canal Wi******er on developing a comprehensive marketing strategy and are excited to see how the intel gleaned through engagement will shape it. As part of that project we had pop-ups at the Farmer’s Market and the Blues and Ribs Fest.

📍Frederick County, Maryland

We had the pleasure of visiting Frederick County Government, MD for a discovery visit! We explored the county through walking and driving tours, while also meeting with the Mayor and Steering Committee to learn more about the community’s vision for its future. After recently completing a Historic Preservation Plan for Frederick County, we’re incredibly honored to continue our partnership by helping shape an Arts & Culture Plan that celebrates the Frederick's creativity, heritage, and unique sense of place.

We’re grateful to the passionate community members, artists, leaders, and partners who continue to make this work possible.

Here’s to more meaningful conversations, creative collaborations, and community-driven plans!

We’re excited to see our Principal & Co-Founder, Josh Lapp, presenting the session, “Planning for Placemaking on Main Street”, at the 2026 Heritage Ohio Annual Conference in Cincinnati tomorrow!

This session will focus on how thoughtful, comprehensive placemaking can transform a Main Street from a collection of individual projects into a vibrant, connected downtown.

Through real-world examples, Lapp will explore how communities can:

-Use local culture to spark long-term economic growth.

-Create authentic experiences and a recognizable community identity.

-Build a strategic blueprint that aligns future projects with a shared vision.

-Strengthen the planning process to support funding and turn ideas into reality.

📅 Tomorrow | 9:45–10:45 AM

📍 Heidelberg Room | 3rd Floor

📌 Cincinnati, Ohio

If you’re attending the conference, we’d love to see you there! Come learn how intentional planning can help communities create Main Streets people recognize, connect with, and love.

We are so excited for our Managing Principal & Co-Founder Amanda Golden and Principal & Director of Design Matthew Leasure to be presenting the session “Transformative Dialogues, Planner Well-being, and Community Healing: The Reimagining Columbus Story” at the American Planning Association's OKI 2026 conference next week in Dayton, Ohio.

This year’s theme, “Healthy Planners for Healthy Places” strives to remind guests that thriving communities begin with the people who plan them. By sharing ideas, building connections, and investing in our own well-being we strengthen our ability to create places that support health, resilience, and quality of life for all.

Please come to our session and let us know if you plan to attend — we would welcome the chance to meet with you!

The East Side Rail Trail is taking shape, and we want you to be part of it!

Join us tomorrow, Wednesday September 23rd, for the East Side Rail Trail Community Open House! The former rail corridor that runs along the border of Columbus and Whitehall will be transformed into a 3-mile linear park and greenway trail.

We’d love for you to learn more about the design process and to share your ideas!

📆 Sept. 23
🕙 4:30-7 p.m.
📍 Barnett Community Center, 1184 Barnett Road, 43227

Discover more about the East Side Rail Trail at this URL:

https://columbusrecparks.com/connect/about/capital-improvement-projects/east-side-rail-trail/

Seeing campus streets from a different perspective!

The Ohio State University (OSU) is working to make campus streets safer and more accessible for everyone, whether you’re walking, biking, driving, or scooting. Earlier this year, OSU was awarded a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant to complete supplementary planning for multimodal roadway users on the Columbus campus and adjacent streets. Through the Safe Streets for Buckeyes (SS4B) initiative led by the Burgess & Niple team, we're helping to identify priority projects and innovative solutions to improve roadway safety on campus and in the surrounding community.

This August, university staff and community partners joined our consultant team for two bike audits, riding a 7-mile loop of campus to experience the streets from a cyclist’s perspective. The insights and data collected will help shape recommendations for Ohio State’s Safe Streets for Buckeyes safety plan.

We’ve also been connecting with the community at pop-up events, including Bucki-Frenzi, Student Life’s BLOC Party, and the first OSU game of the year.

📍 Next stop: University District’s Pearl Alley Jam on September 19! We’ll also be out at other pop-up events around campus throughout September.

Have a campus transportation experience or perspective to share? Take the Safe Streets for Buckeyes online survey and help shape a safer future for everyone:

https://us.maptionnaire.com/q/ss4b-osu-survey

Learn more about the SS4B plan at the URL below:

https://pare.osu.edu/safe-streets-buckeyes

🎉 We’re excited to share that Frederick County Government, MD has officially adopted our Frederick County Historic Preservation Plan!

This plan provides an actionable, long-range framework for identifying, protecting, and managing Frederick County’s historic and cultural resources — from historic farmsteads and bridges to rural villages and archaeological sites.

As the County continues to grow, the plan helps ensure that preservation is thoughtfully integrated into modern planning and development. It also highlights the economic and environmental benefits of revitalizing historic resources through adaptive reuse, energy-efficiency improvements, and access to preservation grants and tax incentives.

At its heart, this plan is about protecting the places and stories that make Frederick County unique — while creating a sustainable path forward for future generations.

We’re proud to have helped shape this important next step for preservation in Frederick County and look forward to seeing the plan put into action!

To read the full plan on our website, please follow this link:

https://www.designinglocal.com/work-portfolio/frederick-county-historic-preservation-plan

We left our hearts in August… ❤️ And now there’s a new heart in The Heart of it All!

Meet “Heartscape,” a stunning new permanent public art installation at Columbus Commons, created by Ohio-native artist Mark Reigelman II and commissioned by Downtown Columbus, Inc., with facilitation from Designing Local.

Inspired by the heart-shaped leaves of Ohio’s Eastern Redbud tree, the steel sculpture features a pattern drawn from the geometry of downtown Columbus’ street grid—beautifully celebrating the connection between nature and city life.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped bring this incredible, original sculpture to life. We’re so excited to see this new piece become part of the heart of Columbus!

Mark Reigelman II: Artist
Designing Local: Landscape Architecture, Project Management & Site Coordination
Wolf Metals, Inc.: Artwork Fabrication and Installation
Buckner and Sons LLC: Site Preparations
LDF Outdoor Lighting: Artwork Lighting

📷 Abby Kamagate

We’re delighted to share that the artists selected to create artwork for the north connector of the Brickline Greenway in St. Louis kicked off the project at last week’s Brickline Greenway Art Party!

The excitement is building as this incredible initiative continues to take shape.

The celebration honored the selected artists and highlighted the public art planned for the Brickline Greenway that Designing Local is curating along North Grand, Cass, and Spring Avenues.

We can’t wait to share more with you as we curate and help to bring this vibrant collection of artwork to life along the north connector. Stay tuned!