City Planner Kenny Thompson recently served as a consultant with the American Planning Association’s Urban Design and Preservation Rapid Assistance Team (D-PRAT) during a three-day workshop in Colusa, California. The pro-bono program supports under-resourced communities by providing expert assistance in urban design, historic preservation, and public space planning.
Thompson says that it was an honor to represent the City of Thomasville as part of the team that supported the City of Colusa in their efforts to collaboratively plan for the future with a focus on improvements to the public realm. “We focused on developing a vision to revitalize their downtown, focusing on activating their historic Main Street with a variety of targeted strategies.”
During the workshop, Thompson led a group of ground team members focused on adaptive reuse of historic buildings within the downtown core. They evaluated underutilized historic buildings, explored façade improvement incentives, identified potential downtown development tools, and discussed opportunities for public art programming.
“Over the coming months, our D-PRAT team will continue developing an Idea Book for Colusa that outlines actionable steps to promote economic vitality, riverfront activation, mobility, and overall quality of life,” said Thompson. “It is extremely rewarding to help peer cities develop downtown development strategies that will positively impact the livability of their community.”
For more information about D-PRAT or the City of Thomasville Planning Department, please contact the Planning Department via email at planning@thomasville.org.