HARLAN PROJECTS (CEDIK INTERNSHIP)

Working with a cohort of students from UK and NKU from the disciplines of landscape architecture, historic preservation, and graphic design, I was a part of a project team tasked with coming up with viable city planning solutions to improve the lives of those living in the rural town of Harlan, Kentucky. The project was through the organization CEDIK (Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky). Although the project team was primarily based in Lexington, we were given the opportunity to travel to Harlan for a few overnight visits to give us a sense on how to provide place based solutions and projects focused on the local values and aesthetics. Our phased recommendations were centered around activating the downtown, improving walkability, and enhancing the sense of place. The recommendations for the city of Harlan were presented as being “phased in” to allow for projects to be achieved over time as funds became available to this community. The built projects we suggested were adding an outdoor amphitheater, a market for selling local goods, renovating a pavilion’s landscape, and creating an outdoor alley space on the main street of downtown Harlan. In addition to this, the team made other recommendations involving branding, infrastructure improvements, the “Sidewalk Subway”, etc. We presented our ideas to leaders and members of the community many times throughout the process, with the end goal having a detailed document of our recommendations.