Bringing our “A” Game in Engagement
Throughout the last year, we continued fulfilling our promise to our communities to find creative ways to make their voices heard in the community planning process. With interactive online platforms, webinars, and out of the box engagement tactics, we engaged communities from coast to coast. While online engagement has been very successful for our team,... Read More
Categories: In The News
Alleys in Place: Chicago’s Alleyway Typologies
In our previous post, we discussed the history of Chicago’s alleyway and gridded street system. With an alleyway network of more than 1,900 miles, we dug into how Chicago’s alleyways came to be. Building upon this history, we investigate the various typologies of Chicago alleyways. As is with any urban form, alleyways are more localized,... Read More
Categories: Alley's in Place, Ideas + Research
Alleys in Place: The History and Rise of Alleys in Chicago
Alleys and other forgotten urban spaces have long interested me. Upon seeing the Green Alley in Detroit in 2013, I have studied and meditated on the idea of alleyways and their greater potential. Over the course of 2020, I plan to dig into Chicago’s alleys as a case study, and reconsider what this urban form... Read More
Categories: Alley's in Place, Ideas + Research
Rewilding: Models and Methodologies
At the Lakota Group we focus heavily on communication and engagement throughout our design and planning processes. Not only is it our job as landscape architects and urban planners to explore and create innovative solutions, but more importantly, we are charged with educating our clients and communities about best management practices and the value of... Read More
Categories: UncategorizedThe Suburban Side of Transit-Oriented Development
Over the past 25 years, The Lakota Group has planned and designed transit-oriented developments around the Midwest. And we continue to help communities to transform the areas around their stations into destinations, hubs of economic activity, and people-filled Places. These projects and our current work in Chicago, Naperville, Niles, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, and Deerfield... Read More
Categories: 25 Lakota, Ideas + ResearchAwards Season
We are excited to announce that The Lakota Group has received two American Planning Association Awards this year! The Peoria Avenue BRT Land Use Framework was selected for the APA-OK 2018 Outstanding Plan Award: Lakota helped implement a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service for Peoria Avenue, a main north-south corridor adjacent to downtown Tulsa.... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Awards + Accolades25 Years of Downtown Plans
We’ve worked in downtowns across the country—large and small—to craft placemaking, transportation, and economic development strategies that provide both vibrant spaces for residents and destinations for visitors. Our downtown project experience includes design standards and form-based codes, public art and open space programming, streetscape planning and design, heritage tourism and Main Street planning, and signage... Read More
Categories: UncategorizedJoin us at the BARK(ing) Spot!
We are excited to announce that in celebration of PARK(ing) Day on September 21st, The Lakota Group will be transforming parking spaces on West Illinois Street into an urban oasis filled with adoptable dogs from The Anti-Cruelty Society. This temporarily-transformed space, the BARK(ing) Spot, will feature leafy landscaping; comfy places to sit and play; and... Read More
Categories: Uncategorized25 Years of Parks & Playgrounds
Since 1993, The Lakota Group has designed numerous parks across the Chicagoland area—from neighborhood playgrounds to entire park district comprehensive plans. Through every aspect of the process, we incorporate innovative, sustainable design and extensive community input. Check out just some of the parks and playgrounds we have worked on over the past 25 years! ... Read More
Categories: UncategorizedPark and Recreation Month Celebration Continues
For 25 years, we’ve been planning Park and Recreation Plans around the Midwest. We are closing out Park and Recreation month with some insight on how Lakota’s process has become more accessible, reliable, and even more engaging! Read More
Categories: Uncategorized25 Years of Parks and Rec Planning
For the last 25 years, Lakota has been working with communities across the country to transform parks, trails, waterfronts, and recreation fields into beautiful, active, and relaxing places for everyone. We’ve learned a lot along the way and have highlighted a few lessons learned from the firm’s top Parks and Rec planners. Read More
Categories: Uncategorized25 Years of Community Engagement
For 25 years, The Lakota Group has engaged communities in fun and innovative ways. From St. Cloud, Minnesota, to San Antonio, Texas, and everywhere in between, we continue to create visionary work that is rooted in community stakeholders’ unique needs and desires. We seek to strike a balance between forward-thinking technologies and good ol’ fashioned face-to-face... Read More
Categories: 25 Lakota, Uncategorized25 Years of Comprehensive Plans
Since 1993, comprehensive and regional planning has evolved from land use “bubble maps” to strategic thinking on community resiliency, placemaking, and quality of life. Comprehensive plans must also inspire communities to be stewards of their own future and active participants in implementation. Lakota has completed numerous comprehensive plan assignments over the years in large cities, small... Read More
Categories: 25 Lakota, Uncategorized
Newsiest of News
25 YEARS AND COUNTING: This year marks Lakota’s 25th anniversary, and we are celebrating with a #LAKOTA25 CAMPAIGN. A series of blog posts on the 25th of each month highlight the range of work we have done over the past 25 years, and what’s ahead for Lakota. Be on the lookout for social media posts... Read More
Categories: Around the Office
2018 Promotions
The Lakota Group is excited to announce the promotions of two of our long-time team members: KEVIN CLARK, PLA AICP joined Lakota in 2005 and has been serving as our Director of Design since 2015. As a newly-promoted Principal, Kevin will continue to oversee all design aspects of the firm, as well as lead urban... Read More
Categories: Around the Office25 Years of Awards
As we look back on the work we’ve done since our early days in 1993, we find projects that have been recognized again and again for their creativity and innovation in planning and design. Below is a list of 25 awards given to some of our favorite projects. North Center Senior Campus City of Chicago... Read More
Categories: 25 Lakota, Awards + Accolades
25 Years Since 1993
For the Lakota family, it’s all about the people – in 1993, it all started with a dream to make great planning accessible to all communities. This year marks our 25-year anniversary. Join us in celebrating innovation, great work, and inspiring communities through a series of blogs on the 25th of every month. Follow us... Read More
Categories: 25 Lakota, Uncategorized
Biomimicry & Community Engagement: What Nature Can Teach Us About Building Strong Communities
Here at The Lakota Group, we’ve been talking about how to best engage communities so that the projects we work on are truly community driven. This conversation has been happening simultaneously with a personal exploration of biomimicry and how it can be applied to urban planning. Biomimicry is the practice of looking to nature to... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Ideas + Research
New Year | New People | New Work
We are beyond thrilled to welcome MORGAN HARTY to our growing team. Morgan is a landscape architect with an expertise in green infrastructure techniques focusing on stormwater management and water conservation. The New Year also brought new projects… We are kicking-off our work on CHICAGO’S GREEKTOWN MASTER PLAN, which seeks to maintain the cultural identity... Read More
Categories: Uncategorized
A Return to Democratic Space
So much discussion in recent months has focused on the division in our country; a discord that has played out across multiple platforms, including news outlets, social media, public protests, massive marches, and town hall meetings. In the midst of these events, I’ve looked back on the places I’ve visited and worked—red and blue states,... Read More
Categories: Around the Office
Welcoming the New Lakotans
We are very excited to welcome the New Lakotans! Jonathan Smith – Senior Landscape Architect Siraj Asfahani – Associate Rachael Smith – Associate Our Team is growing and we couldn’t be more excited about our new additions. Read More
Categories: Around the Office
Chicago River Green Ribbon Award
The Lakota Group’s Calumet & Southeast Chicago Lakefront Region Wayfinding Concept was awarded the Friends of the Chicago River Green Ribbon Award at the 2017 Annual Big Fish Ball. The Lakota team, in partnership with the Calumet Collaborative, Bluestone + Associates and sparc, inc., created this wayfinding concept to bring people together to experience the... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades
Street Marionette
Date: Monday the 19th | Time: 6:00 pm I open the door and the show begins. I walk the usual left, right, left with brief pauses during certain turns. I make sure not to stray away from my regular 3-foot wide path on stage; I feel anxious as I take my last turn. The performance... Read More
Categories: Ideas + Research
Rethinking Community Engagement
At Lakota, we pride ourselves on our community engagement and we work hard at it. Phone calls, surveys, and digital input have their place, but nothing beats walking around and talking to peoplereal—and by this, I mean busy, opinionated, complex, and completely human —people. There are hidden issues at play, ranging from how we do... Read More
Categories: Ideas + Research
Immediate Urbanism: Quicker, Cheaper & Way More Fun
Becoming aware: My daily commute is all of one hour, door to door. Within that hour, I drive, park, walk, ride the green line, and then walk the last half mile to get to the front door of my brick-faced office. If you are like me, and take the same route (or some version of... Read More
Categories: Ideas + Research
Two IL – ASLA Awards
Lakota is happy to announce it just received two awards from the Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for two very different projects. Lakota’s work at Hubbard Woods Park received a Merit award in the General Design-Constructed Projects category. This project examined an under-utilized open space and provided improvements to help reinvigorate... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Project Stories
The Wetlands Initiative
Lakota has just completed a community engagement and master planning process for the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, a spectacular 3,000-acre wetland and natural area about two hours southwest of Chicago. After almost a century as farmland, in 2001 The Wetlands Initiative turned off the pump and began to restore the Refuge to wetlands. The Refuge today... Read More
Categories: In The News, Project Stories
Lakota in the Tribune: Niles Arts+Culture Plan
On February 16, the Lakota Group led a Community Workshop for the Niles Arts + Culture Master Plan. The event drew a huge crowd and was covered by the Chicago Tribune. Check it out! Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, In The News
Governmental Policy and the Creation of Vibrant Rural Communities
How does the government define rural, and how can allies of the built environment challenge the incoming administration to continue and advance programs and policies that have strengthened and maintained rural character and sense of place? The U.S. Census Bureau simply defines rural as, “areas that are not urban–that is, after defining individual urban areas,... Read More
Categories: Ideas + Research
Empower your Community with These Three Strategies
“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.” — Margaret J. Wheatley As communities’ Allies in Place, we strive to help our clients and their constituents discover those things they care about most, and develop plans that make them come to fruition. We continually look to add to... Read More
Categories: Ideas + Research, Project StoriesThe Newsiest of News Around Lakota
Out with the warm weather but in with more new hires at Lakota! We are absolutely thrilled to announce the newest additions to our growing Team: MARISA SHULZ, an experienced urban designer, planner, and writer, joins us as our first Marketing + Brand Director. Marisa was most recently on the faculty at DePaul’s Chaddick institute... Read More
Categories: Uncategorized
In the Community, In the News
Lakota has been in the news again, engaging with suburban communities outside both Chicago and Milwaukee—and those conversations are yielding real results: ACTIVE TOSA: Lakota is leading the effort to create a Recreational Master Plan for Wauwatosa, a community near Milwaukee, WI. Our work, which will address the future of the parks, trails, open spaces, and recreation... Read More
Categories: In The News, Project Stories
Lakota’s New Look: New Brand, New Vibe
We at Lakota pride ourselves on being able to listen to folks, synthesize what we hear about their values, histories and goals, and then pull it all together into a creative whole. So when faced with the need to take a deep look at our own Lakota brand, it was a rare chance to sit... Read More
Categories: Around the Office
Milwaukee Redux – the 2016 Main Street Now Conference
Every morning this past month of May, I’ve mistakenly typed “mainst” into my laptop computer password field at work. Such an annoying occurrence — it was my old password from the laptop I had while working for the National Main Street Center so many years ago. But I know why I was doing it —... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Ideas + Research
In the (Partner) Spotlight with the Millennium Reserve
The Lakota Group has been featured as a Partner Spotlight on the Millennium Reserve Website. President Scott Freres explains how Lakota embodies an “ally” mentality, while VP Sarah White emphasizes the importance of public engagement in Lakota’s process, which, Sarah says, is all about “trying to find common ground between people with different perspectives. Our work... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, In The News
Lakota’s Gateway Master Plan Makes the News
The Lakota Group’s work to create a cohesive and community-supported vision for the Forest Preserve of Cook County was recognized yesterday by Doug T. Graham of the Daily Herald. “Although designs for the gateways have not been completed, the goal is for them to convey a sense of welcome, interest, safety and beauty, according to... Read More
Categories: In The News, Project Stories
CNU-IL and AIA-Chicago Host “Tactical Urbanism Slam”
On Thursday May 7th at the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), Kyle Smith of CNT and Ian Sisson of The Lakota Group co-hosted a “Tactical Urbanism Slam” with their respective organizations, the Congress for New Urbanism – Illinois Chapter (CNU-IL), and the American Institute of Architects Chicago Chapter (AIA Chicago). The event featured eight speakers with... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research
MedQuarter Master Development Plan Wins 2014 APA-Iowa Award for Urban Design; Lakota visits Mason City, rewatches The Music Man
Each year, the Iowa Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA-Iowa) asks its members to nominate plans, projects, and individuals deserving recognition for achievements in planning work. This year, the MedQuarter Master Development Plan was honored by the organization as an exemplary urban design project – one of ten outstanding plans, projects, and individuals recognized. The APA... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Project StoriesDaniel Speaks at 2014 Mississippi River Conference
Daniel has been invited to speak this week at the 2014 Mississippi River Conference in Moline about a web-based forum for community dialog that Lakota recently helped some wonderful long-term clients establish. For almost 20 years Lakota has worked closely with the Quad Cities community and with River Action, a Davenport-based organization that advocates for... Read More
Categories: Around the Office
Moline Centred Plan Receives Best Strategic Plan Award
Over the years, the Lakota Group has had a fruitful working relationship with the communities that comprise the Quad Cities metropolitan region. In 1998, Lakota, in collaboration with 18 Quad City communities and various other local non-profit groups and agencies, created the Mississippi River Corridor Land Use Plan and Design Principles, a comprehensive planning document... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, In The News
Density in the Suburbs | APA 2014 Conference
Lakota is a sponsor of this week’s APA-IL conference in Evanston, and we hope to see you there! Come see Scott participate in a panel discussion titled “Density in the Suburbs” on Wednesday at 1:00. The topic will be how to retrofit obsolete single use, suburban development into high density, sustainable development. As the program... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research
CANstruction: The Lakota Group Gorilla Wins the People’s Choice Award!
Did you happen to notice an 8-foot tall silverback gorilla tromping through the Merchandise Mart recently? Then you may have seen the CANstruction Chicago 2014 entry designed and built by The Lakota Group and its teammates Valenti Builders and Myefski Architects. “CANsanova Knuckle-Crushes Hunger,” took home the People’s Choice Award as well as the ribbon... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Awards + Accolades
Lakota Bullish about Downtown Kenosha
Scott was the keynote speaker at the annual State of Downtown Kenosha this week, where he told the audience of more than 100 people that the city had a unique asset to build on: its streetcar infrastructure. The event was reported in the Kenosha News under the headline “Boosters bullish about state of downtown Kenosha”... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research, In The News, Project Stories
Scott as Badger
Scott was interviewed by his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, about his work as a landscape architect in the 20-plus years since he graduated. Scott’s reflections about the practice of landscape architecture and how it has changed is worth a look, even for those who do not bleed Badger red. Scott remembers that twenty... Read More
Categories: Ideas + Research, In The News
Visiting Detroit at the 2014 National Main Street Conference
It’s been quite a while since I’ve written a blog post – more than a year in fact. Well, I thought I’d make up for my extended absence from the keyboard by chronicling my attendance at the National Main Street Conference, held this year in Detroit – the “Motor City!” – a place I’d come... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Ideas + Research
Frank Lloyd Wright and Survey Serendipity
I’ve spent most of my adult life living in Oak Park, Illinois, that well-known Chicago suburb celebrated for being the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway and the home of that other distinguished gentleman, Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed a number of his Prairie School homes and buildings in the community during the first couple of decades... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research
My Life With the Bagpipes
This blog post is not my usual, straight-laced update posting on Lakota projects and happenings. Nope, it’s not even my customary musings about some cool, forlorn old buildings I happened to come across during a work assignment. This time around, I thought I’d write about my quirky but somewhat intriguing (to some) little hobby, one... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Uncategorized
A Revitalized Marion Street in Oak Park, IL
The project to revitalize downtown Oak Park, Illinois was completed in fall of 2007, when plans to reopen a former pedestrian mall to two-way traffic were carried out. Marion Street, in the heart of the central business district, was transformed into a welcoming streetscape reminiscent of its early 20th century look. The new Marion Street... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Project Stories
Pullman State Historic Site: ULI Releases Technical Assistance Panel Report
As a follow-up to an earlier post here at the Lakota blog regarding the Pullman State Historic Site, the Urban Land Institute-Chicago District Council just released the Final Report of its Technical Assistance Panel Visit to the site last October. The report provides a summary of the Panel’s findings during its three-day site visit, including... Read More
Categories: Ideas + Research, In The News, Project Stories
Historic Theaters and Revitalizing Traditional Commercial Districts – Recent Lakota Work
Over the past year, the Lakota Group has had a full plate of work with challenging commercial district planning work in three very distinct communities and neighborhoods – the Six Corners commercial district in Chicago’s ethnically diverse northwest side; downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin, once one of the state’s most bustling industrial hubs; and Momence, Illinois, a small... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Ideas + Research, In The News, Project Stories
Neighborhoods, Master Plans and Tivoli Lights: An End of The Year Lakota Group Update
An old Lakota Sioux proverb says that it takes a thousand voices to tell a single story. We thought it would be a good opportunity to provide a brief update on our project portfolio – projects that showcase the depth and talent of our team of planners and designers. From all of us at Lakota, we... Read More
Categories: Around the Office, Project Stories
Main Street Momence Does A Master Plan
Over the years, The Lakota Group has had the privilege and opportunity to work in many rural towns and small communities throughout the Midwest, ranging in assignments from designing new waterfronts to designing streetscapes and preparing downtown master plans. During the last three years, our Main Street revitalization and historic preservation work has also taken... Read More
Categories: Ideas + Research, Project Stories
Pullman 20 years later – Lakota Participates in ULI Technical Assistance Panel for the Pullman State Historic Site
In April 1991, under former Governor James R. Thompson, the State of Illinois purchased the Pullman Palace Car Company Factory Complex and the adjacent Florence Hotel as part of a newly established state historic site. Those of you may recall from your college history or urban planning classes that Pullman was one of the country’s first... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research, Project Stories
Naperville recognized for its historic preservation efforts
The Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association recognized the City of Naperville’s historic preservation program with a 2011 Chapter “Best Practice” Award during the Illinois Chapter’s annual conference last week in Evanston. Naperville undertook a two-year community engagement process to strengthen its local historic preservation program by revising its historic preservation ordinance, reconstituting the... Read More
Categories: Awards + Accolades, Project Stories
Welcome to the Lakota Group Blog
“It is observed that in any great endeavor, it is not enough for a person to depend on himself” – Lakota proverb. The Lakota Sioux Native-Americans of the Great Plains lived their lives according to the ideals of community, cooperation, generosity and strength. For the Lakota, strong communities are not possible without cooperation, trust and... Read More
Categories: Around the Office