The Activity Score.
The Activity Score was a community engagement exercise designed for the Turner Field Stadium Neighborhoods LCI. It focused on the core area (the parking lots surrounding the stadium).
The three-step exercise presented participants with examples of local neighborhoods with different levels of density.
Community members were encouraged to choose the activity level they desired to see in the core area based on the examples provided: Regional Center, Active Urban District, Urban Village, and Quiet Neighborhood. Using demographic data (how many residents, jobs, visitors, etc. each neighborhood had in a one-mile radius), the planning team calculated the activity score of each of the four categories prior to the exercise. Each example was associated with the level of services it would support. For example, an active urban district would have enough density to support a grocery store, while a quiet neighborhood would not.
There were approximately one hundred participants split in eight tables. Once each table chose their desired activity score, participants used a series of building blocks with various development types (ranging in density from single family houses to mixed use multifamily and office towers) to build out the core area on a large 3D model of the site. Public realm components such as parks and street types were also part of the building exercise.
Once the development was “complete”, a member of the planning team would use an app to enter the number of building blocks used by each table to calculate the activity score. In most cases, more building blocks would have to be added to achieve the desired density.
The planning team used the results from the eight tables to substract key design elements. For example, identifying where the most density should be or if the community had an appetite for a large open space vs. multiple smaller ones, and so on.
The team translated these key elements into design parameters grouped into the six categories shown below. The design parameters served as the primary basis for the three proposed concept plans.
