Awards Season

By The Lakota Group  |  October 24, 2018

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 + Accolades

25 Years of Awards

By The Lakota Group  |  April 25, 2018

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

Chicago River Green Ribbon Award

By The Lakota Group  |  July 5, 2017

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

Two IL – ASLA Awards

By Becky Hurley  |  February 20, 2017

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

Lakota in the Tribune: Niles Arts+Culture Plan

By Siraj Asfahani  |  February 20, 2017

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

In the (Partner) Spotlight with the Millennium Reserve

By Siraj Asfahani  |  February 4, 2016

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

Movin’ On Up!

By The Lakota Group  |  July 29, 2015

The Lakota Group celebrates its hard-working team members and their new titles. Read More

Categories: Around the Office, Awards + Accolades

CNU-IL and AIA-Chicago Host “Tactical Urbanism Slam”

By Siraj Asfahani  |  June 1, 2015

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

It’s Award Season at Lakota

By The Lakota Group  |  May 6, 2015

Lakota Wins Merit Award for St. Cloud Placemaking The Lakota Group was recently presented with a Merit Award by the Illinois chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ILASLA) for its innovative work in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Engaged to help identify placemaking strategies and opportunities to enhance quality of life, Lakota worked to educate St.... Read More

Categories: Awards + Accolades, In The News, Project Stories

MedQuarter Master Development Plan Wins 2014 APA-Iowa Award for Urban Design; Lakota visits Mason City, rewatches The Music Man

By Siraj Asfahani  |  November 8, 2014

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 Stories

Moline Centred Plan Receives Best Strategic Plan Award

By Siraj Asfahani  |  October 13, 2014

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

By Siraj Asfahani  |  September 30, 2014

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!

By Siraj Asfahani  |  September 16, 2014

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

By Siraj Asfahani  |  September 16, 2014

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

Lakota, LAbash and the Future of Landscape Architecture

By The Lakota Group  |  April 23, 2014

 Each year, landscape architecture students host an event called LAbash and for three days industry professionals are welcomed to host design workshops and give presentations on topics relevant to the industry. Since 1970, the networking event has been hosted by a different university in North America and since this year it was being held Scott... Read More

Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research

Challenges and Opportunities of Integrating “Green” into Ordinances

By The Lakota Group  |  April 2, 2013

As the desire to incorporate sustainable initiatives into homes, businesses and developments grows, local governments often find that their ordinances did not anticipate these new practices. While certain practices require completely new language, others—such as rain barrels and light shelves—may be restricted by unintentional barriers within existing ordinances. Daniel Grove, Lakota associate principal, will present... Read More

Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research

Reinvigorating Oak Park through Public Investment

By The Lakota Group  |  April 1, 2013

What is the long-term value of investing in high-quality public spaces? And what impact do public infrastructure improvements have on private investment and placemaking? Daniel Grove, associate principal at The Lakota Group, and Scott Freres, principal/president, will be giving a tour of historic Marion Street in Oak Park for the National American Planning Association Conference... Read More

Categories: Awards + Accolades, Ideas + Research, In The News, Project Stories

Frank Lloyd Wright and Survey Serendipity

By Siraj Asfahani  |  March 14, 2013

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

A Revitalized Marion Street in Oak Park, IL

By Siraj Asfahani  |  September 24, 2012

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 20 years later – Lakota Participates in ULI Technical Assistance Panel for the Pullman State Historic Site

By Siraj Asfahani  |  October 24, 2011

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

By Siraj Asfahani  |  October 13, 2011

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