Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
4-2014
Department
Sociology
Abstract
In October 2011, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) awarded Louisville Metro Department of Economic Growth and Innovation (LMEGI) two Brownfield Assessment Grants for hazardous substances and petroleum. As part of these grants, LMEGI partnered with the University of Louisville Center for Environmental Policy and Management (CEPM) to collect and update existing data and obtain community input through public meetings about past and future uses of properties along the 18th Street Commercial Corridor in Louisville, KY. The boundaries of the 18th Street Commercial Corridor extend from West Broadway south to Algonquin Parkway including the two parcels to the east and west of the corridor (See Map 1 on page 33). The purpose of this report is to serve as a resource kit that provides information to support a corridor plan and facilitate the revitalization this corridor. The 18th Street corridor is the major arterial road servicing the heavily traveled industrial/commercial area connecting the outlying residential neighborhoods and is a critical area that impacts the successful revitalization of West Louisville. This report assembles the information gathered from several different efforts that focused on the corridor and its future. It is intended to be used as a tool for residents, business owners, Louisville Metro agencies and other community stakeholders to promote positive change and encourage the revitalization of the 18th Street corridor. The information gathered and recommendations made in this report are based on: 1. A series of community meetings, open to the public, where properties were identified and discussed in terms of previous uses, current conditions, and future uses. 2. Data collected by AMEC, an environmental consultant contracted by LMEGI that identified properties with potential contamination. 3. Vacant property data from Louisville Metro and the Network Center for Community Change (NC3). 4. Land-use inventory, corridor condition analysis, and recommendations compiled by University of Louisville urban planning graduate students. 5. Site plans created by University of Kentucky Landscape Architecture students for the former Black Leaf Chemical site. 6. U.S. Census, American Community Survey, 2008-2011 5-year Estimates 7. Previous studies and plans related to the area. Relevant information gathered from each of these efforts is compiled for use by public officials and stakeholders in decision-making processes for projects related to the 18th Street corridor and other nearby areas in need of revitalization and reinvestment.
Original Publication Information
Heberle, L., Norton, C., Bland-Tunstul, W., Smith, A., and Fenwick, R. (2014) “18th Street Corridor Study Report”. Center for Environmental Policy and Management, University of Louisville. https://louisville.edu/cepm/project-areas-1/brownfields-and-safe-soil/18th-street-corridor-report
ThinkIR Citation
Heberle, Lauren; Norton, C.; Bland-Tunstul, W.; Smith, A.; and Fenwick, R., "18th Street Corridor Study Report" (2014). Faculty and Staff Scholarship. 1009.
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/faculty/1009
ORCID
0000-0003-4259-2182
Comments
This report and associated public meetings were funded by Louisville Metro Economic Growth and Innovation through their 2011 EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant. Authorship was collaborative and included Lauren Heberle, Carol Norton, Wanice Bland-Tunstull, Allison Smith, and Ryan Fenwick. We want to thank Randy VanHoose for extracting and organizing data collected by AMEC, and the students from the University of Louisville Master of Urban Planning 2012 Capstone and University of Kentucky 2011 Landscape Architecture classes for imagining innovative futures and providing detailed recommendations for corridor improvements. NC3 and AMEC generously shared parcel based data inventories, collected by community members in the case of NC3. Finally we want to highlight the essential value of the input from and conversations we had with community members and stakeholders who know the history and needs of those who live and work in this area. No project can succeed without full consideration of local resident, business, and institutional knowledge and desires.