Document Type

Article

Abstract

The city of Celina is a small city located within Collin County in the northern part of the North Central Texas Metroplex. The city was a rural based community with a large percentage of agricultural land. However, over the past decade, Celina's population tripled from around 1800 to over 5200 people. Currently, the city is in a transition phase and is anticipated to grow and develop rapidly in the future. Development is predicted to occur first along Preston Corridor (SH 289), which runs through the city boundary, for two main reasons. First, the continual development trend along Preston Corridor in the neighboring cities such as Plano, Frisco, and Prosper is influencing Celina too. Therefore, the city is expected to grow in the same manner in the future. Secondly, the intersection of Preston Corridor with two new regional highways - Dallas North Tollway (DNT) on the west and Collin County Outer Loop on the south of Celina, will transform the city's transportation system over the next few years. So, the change in social, economic and physical structure is certain in the city. Currently, Celina is a small community having its own identity and character. The citizens of Celina desire to preserve its identity and character, despite its anticipated change in social, economic, and physical structure. With this vision in mind, a group of students from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) analyzed the current conditions and future outlook of Celina, and conceptualized the three building blocks framework along the corridor, namely, Corridor Connector, Historical Core, and Rural District. UTA student group also conducted a visual preference survey to identify the community's preferred character elements for the corridor. Building on the research findings from the previous study, this project covers three main objectives. First is to apply those preferred character elements in the three building blocks so as to preserve the city's character and tradition, and to create a unique identity. In addition, the community has a preference for pedestrian and transit oriented development along the corridor. Next is to develop the land use guidelines, and create an urban design framework for the three building blocks, which can support transits and pedestrian movement.

Disciplines

Architecture | Urban, Community and Regional Planning

Publication Date

4-1-2011

Language

English

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