Damascus Placemaking Plan

Design Collective, along with our design partner Graham Projects, led a 6-month intensive public outreach and engagement effort with M-NCPPC Montgomery Planning.  Building on an established masterplan for Damascus, the project studied potential future improvements to the town’s stagnant downtown main street.  The Community was asked how they might envision Main Street and over the course of several public workshops, community meetings, and other related outreach efforts, the design team distilled and analyzed the feedback to identify several potential urban design improvements that might be appropriate, to serve the needs of the community.  The team then designed and implemented a 2-day Placemaking Street Festival to temporarily test and evaluate these improvements.  These improvements included public gathering space, bicycle infrastructure, mid-block crossings, gateways & wayfinding, public art and an enhanced retail streetscape with added trees, planting and site furnishings.  Through additional feedback and analysis, the team ultimately developed a final report, which included next step recommendations to support future funding and planning efforts in Damascus.