On February 1^st, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts has hosted a major event for downtown Miami’s future. The Town Square Neighborhood Development Corporation and Cesar Pelli who was already the Arsht Center’s architect did finally unveil their unsettled project for the area. Their idea is to develop a pedestrian-friendly and well equilibrated neighborhood by mixing educational, cultural, housing, recreational and commercial areas. The different centers would be linked together with a ribbon of little parks and supported by sufficient public transportation and parking facilities.

Nevertheless, the project is a simple view of what the future of the neighborhood would look like. So far, there is a lack of land and funds. The plan is more described as an “aspiration”. Its goal is to inspire officials and property owners of the best direction for the neighborhood developments.

According to Miami’s Mayor Manny Diaz, it is crucial to communicate a vision before it is too late.  With the development of some huge projects such as Miami World Resort or Brickell CitiCentre, some neighborhood activists are afraid of having no other alternative than accepting developers’ choices. They actually believe that this master plan will open a door to discussions. There is a hope for a Miami’s urban development which will not only take into account the vision of individual developers, but also existing property owners and residents.