A Texas A&M urban planning studio’s plan for rejuvenating the weakening economy of a Gulf Coast town earned an honorable mention award from the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
The semester-long partnership between the studio and the city of Palacios, Texas yielded a detailed action plan aimed at transforming the quiet fishing village into a city that could be enjoyed by residents and tourists alike.
Michael Neuman, associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, led the studio which utilized the talents of students from A&M’s urban planning, landscape architecture, and recreation, parks and tourism sciences programs.
The studio’s comprehensive effort included resident surveys and site analyses examining population demographics, soils, hurricane risk reports and transportation evaluations. The studio noted that the shrimping-dependent city’s recent economic decline was largely due to increasing fuel costs and decreasing shrimp sales, Neuman explained.
The plan, presented at the end of the spring 2003 semester, outlined improvements for the city’s waterfront, its downtown area and the main corridors linking these areas together. Ideas included constructing a bike and hike trail to connect the entire town, relocating city hall and building a new hotel. The students also redesigned the highway bypass, adding a landscaped center median to make the road safer to travelers.
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