On behalf of the Memphis/Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, Code Studio and Ferrell Madden Lewis undertook a seven-day intensive public participation design charrette intended to elicit a vision for the area, create an illustrative master plan, and eventually implement that plan with a new code for the area.The Broad Ave corridor was originally intended to contain the I-40 Interstate, which was halted decades ago through litigation at adjacent Overton Park. The remaining corridor west of the park has been successfully re-integrated into the surrounding neighborhood; however, east of the park, a connection (Sam Cooper Boulevard) was made to the interstate loop surrounding the City. This intrusive new freeway spur cut off historic Broad Avenue, once a major shopping street, with a suburban roadway design operating at high speeds that cut the neighborhood in two.

The public participation charrette brought together a set of disparate landowners, non-profit institutions, businesses and affected neighbors—in a way that had not occurred for more than forty years due to the division of the community by a rail line running north-south and a major east-west roadway corridor. The code will be implemented as part of the new county-wide unified development code currently under consideration. The area has recently seen substantial redevelopment activity -- with a new focus on the arts.

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