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4 <br />r " <br />REGIONAL IMAGE GUIDELINES ' <br />Although the proposed project contains elements of research and theory, its <br />emphasis is on communication through workshops and publications. <br />Need, Intended Audience and Benefits <br />Rural and urban areas in the Triangle J Region stand in contrast to each <br />other even as social and economic forces are pulling them together into a <br />vast regional community. Open space, forestland and farmland is being <br />converted to shopping centers, offices, residential and other types of mixed <br />use development. Changes in the Region's appearance are not limited to <br />the new growth in suburban areas. Within cities, new development and <br />revitalization is changing the face of downtowns, small town main streets <br />and existing highway corridors. Problems arise when the planning and <br />design of this newer development does not adequately consider the full <br />range of attributes that give the Region and its communities their unique <br />visual character. Because most community or regional image problems <br />become magnified and focused by growth, it is never too early to develop <br />public policies and educational strategies that help protect and enhance <br />community character. Politically palatable and effective aesthetic incentives <br />and guidelines are made many times more difficult by attempting to establish <br />them after the fact. <br />The audience for this work will be drawn from three groups: local public <br />officials who set development regulatory policy; the design and development <br />community who plan and build projects; and the citizens of the Region. It is <br />out of the interaction of these three groups that decisions and actions. <br />emerge which collectively shape the appearance of the Region. Therefore it <br />is vital that the design guidelines produced be responsive to all three groups <br />in ways that strengthen public appreciation for regional and community <br />visual character. In their response to the survey which was summarized in <br />Building a Regional Image, public officials strongly voiced their opinion that <br />more was needed in the area of design guidelines. The public sometimes <br />voices disappointment with new development that seems inappropriate for <br />the community, but more often the public remains complacent, unaware that <br />alternative designs are possible. The development community within the <br />multi- county Region J area find themselves responding to fairly <br />comprehensive design guidelines in the larger cities such as Raleigh or <br />Chapel Hill on one hand and the absence of guidelines in the smaller towns <br />and rural areas. The proposed Regional Image Guidelines will present <br />alternative design approaches in three different contexts: a major <br />thoroughfare corridor; a highway commercial strip and; a river corridor /open <br />space. To a large extent, it is the small and large projects in these areas that <br />together are shaping the Region's image. In summary, the Regional Image <br />Guidelines are intended to serve as a communication mechanism among <br />the three groups who make up the intended audience with the goal of <br />establishing a "design tradition" for the Triangle J Region. <br />