Click below to listen to the conversation between 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck and Matt Gladdek — executive director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership.
Welcome to “Embrace The Space!” A monthly segment presented by Trinsic Residential Group, “Embrace The Space” features conversations with experts and professionals in town planning, discussing how differing concepts — from land use and housing to transportation and beyond — all come together to create a community that works, and works for people. This month, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck was joined by Matt Gladdek, executive director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership. Gladdek is a Tar Heel with graduate degrees from UNC in both city planning and public administration.
Given how much is changing in North Carolina, and how quickly, Gladdek is part of the conversation when it comes to organizing public spaces and how space is most effectively used.
“I think that what we want for downtown Chapel Hill are buildings that efficiently use the space,” said Gladdek. “And, I think the single most important issue is we want spaces that really engage the downtown things that make the street-level experience more exciting and more interesting. We want to make sure that the spaces are right size for the types of businesses that we want in downtown.”
Of course, when it comes to types of businesses and implementation of plans, context is everything — especially when any placement, any zoning, any design in an area like downtown Chapel Hill will have long-term effects and long-lasting impact.
“I think that context matters a lot in terms of what’s a good project, in terms of what goes where, and I think that’s probably the most difficult and most nuanced part of this discussion is that context in terms of everything that we want,” said Gladdek. “I think that, in general, we really want our downtown to be unique and walkable. And, we all have different pictures in our minds of what that looks like. I think one of the things that really makes developing difficult in the Triangle right now is the incredible number of people that are moving here from really high-cost environments.”
“Embrace The Space” is a monthly segment presented by Trinsic Residential Group on 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com featuring conversations with experts and professionals exploring town planning, from land use to housing to transportation, and examine how so much works together to form a place where people can not only live — but thrive.
You can find more conversations like this in the “Embrace The Space” archive on Chapelboro, and each month in a special segment airing on 97.9 The Hill!
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