The Bellingham Business Journal

Western Washington University’s Urban Transitions Studio will present environmental assessments of a concept for infill and alleyway redevelopment along Cornwall Avenue from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at Bellingham City Hall.

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will include both a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) assessment of proposals for revitalizing downtown Bellingham’s retail core.

Urban Transitions Studio is a collaborative partnership between WWU, the City of Bellingham’s Office of Planning and Community Development and local nonprofit Sustainable Connections. The partnership aims to promote New Urbanism and Smart Growth planning concepts and to stimulate ideas for transitioning Bellingham into a more urban and sustainable community.

This is the third initiative in a series of coordinated university studies that examine sustainable planning concepts for downtown revitalization and retail mall transition. Previous classes, held last winter and spring, examined plan concept development, financing and plan implementation, marketing, and sustainable design under the guidance of WWU professors Nicholas Zaferatos, Paul Stangl and Wendy Wilhelm.

For more information about Urban Transitions Studio, contact Troy D. Abel, WWU assistant professor of Environmental Studies at (360) 650-6133 or abelt@wwu.edu.