Sustainable North Park Main Street

Sustainable North Park Main Street Sustainable North Park Main Street (SNPMS) is a broad, yet very grounded vision of a greener future for North Park. Applying simple interventions across North Park’s historic business district, SNPMS proposes a coordinated approach to sustainability. It involves building owners, business operators, and the community in creating a lasting framework for economic prosperity, community action, and an improved urban environment. The resulting work presents a broad scale re-envisioning of North Park’s commercial corridors, developed by young volunteer graduates of the NewSchool of Architecture & Design working in conjunction with volunteer professional architects as well as various community and sustainability stakeholders. This work was the subject of a public show at Art Produce Gallery August 13 to 20, which can be viewed at northparkmainstreet.com. Imagined within the larger context of North Park, five key intersections in North Park are illustrated as they would appear if a number of simple – and very feasible – sustainability measures were to be brought together in a coordinated fashion. These measures include building retrofits, new business practices, and public improvements that work together to support the goal of greening North Park. The work presented by SNPMS resulted in North Main Street receiving a $25,000 grant from the Office of Historic Preservation for the development of a Sustainability Implementation Plan – currently underway – which will help guide North Park Main Street in its efforts to create a community resource center for sustainability. SDG&E also granted $5,000 to supplement work on the Plan, which will be completed by October 1, 2011.