Plusurbia's Juan Mullerat was invited to participate as a juror for the final project review for a class taught by Eric Howeler and Corey Zehngebot at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. The final projects focused on architecture and urbanism in Miami and addressed a broad range of topics that generated important conversations and solutions to the pressing issues the city is currently facing. The topics included housing, mobility, typology, community development, ecosystems, the public realm, climate adaptive architecture, immigration and assimilation, health care, and tourism.Below are pictures of the review by Justin Knight (@jakphotojustin):
The first Camp about transportation and mobility in Puerto Rico was held at the University of Puerto Rico on Tuesday, November 5th. Several sessions were held in which attendees could propose topics for the conference and listen to the invited keynote speakers from abroad. It was a great opportunity to contribute to the improvement of mobility in Puerto Rico!
The American Planning Association Gold Coast Chapter honored Plusurbia Design with three awards for our recent work. We are very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with outstanding partners on the Little Havana Me Importa Plan, Coconut Grove Village Revitalization Plan and the Miami Tri-Rail Coastal Link TOD Plans. Congratulations to all that have worked so hard to make this happen. We are humbled and honored for this recognition and we pledge ourselves to continue designing better places, safer communities, and healthier cities. National Trust for Historic Preservation, City of Miami, Dade Heritage Trust, Urban Health Partnerships, @Live Healthy little Havana, Health Foundation of South Florida, Perkins and Will, Cesar Garcia-Pons, W Thomas/Tom Lavash, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, Dana P. Little, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority / Tri-Rail, William Moose, Robert Lloyd, Coconut Grove Business Improvement District, Francis X. Suarez, Peter Wood, Eileen Higgins, Christine Rupp, Maggie Fernandez, LEED Green Associate, Francisco García Iglesias
Plusurbia's Juan Mullerat was honored at the first annual Calle Ocho News Community Champion Award Cocktail Party for Hispanic Heritage. The festive event honored many others who have worked tirelessly for the Hispanic community in Miami in the past few years, including Community Champion of the year, Miami-Dade County District 5 Commissioner Eileen Higgins. Mullerat's recognition comes after the unveiling of the Little Havana Revitalization Master Plan, a two-year effort to retain character, density, scale and affordability in Little Havana. The 2019 Community Champion awardees. Juan Mullerat with Commissioner Eileen Higgins. An image of the plaque awarded to Mullerat.
Plusurbia is excited to be a part of the team that worked on the community-led Master Planning effort for Wynwood Norte, the results of which were presented at a well-attended community meeting at Roberto Clemente Park on Thursday, September 19. Residents and community members gathered to see the outcome after months of working together to create a vision for the future of the neighborhood.To learn more about this project, please follow the link below:Wynwood Norte Community Vision Plan Members of the Wynwood Community Enhancement Association (WynwoodCEA) with Steven Wernick and members of the Plusurbia team. Commissioner Keon Hardemon speaks at the community meeting for the Wynwood Norte Community Vision Plan.Images of Roberto Clemente Park, one of the special places within the Wynwood Norte neighborhood.
Plusurbia has won two awards at the Florida APA Conference for its work on the projects Little Havana Revitalization Master Plan and Coconut Grove Master Implementation Plan.We share this with our partners without whom this would not have been possible: National Trust for Historic Preservation, Perkins and Will, Cesar Garcia-Pons, W Thomas/ Tom Lavash, Health Foundation of South Florida, Dade Heritage Trust, Urban Health Partnerships, Live Healthy Little Havana, Coconut Grove Business Improvement District, Francis X. Suarez, Eileen Higgins, Ken Russell, Urban Impact Lab, City of Miami
Coming up on September 4th, Plusurbia's Puerto Rico office will hold a series of events called "Junte Multimodal," or "Multimodal Get Together," to open up the conversation about urbanism and mobility in Puerto Rico.Plusurbia joins a number of other distinct community organizations and businesses and invites you to join us for this first series of small conferences and networking events, which are open to the public. Let us know your thoughts on mobility in Puerto Rico by taking the online survey!Launch me (function() { var qs,js,q,s,d=document, gi=d.getElementById, ce=d.createElement, gt=d.getElementsByTagName, id="typef_orm_share", b="https://embed.typeform.com/"; if(!gi.call(d,id)){ js=ce.call(d,"script"); js.id=id; js.src=b+"embed.js"; q=gt.call(d,"script")[0]; q.parentNode.insertBefore(js,q) } })()
PlusUrbia's Megan McLaughlin is presenting at the Florida Main Street Annual Conference, held in Orlando, Florida on July 24-26.Megan's presentation, "New Buildings With Old Character," focuses on promoting urban infill on Main Street that is compatible with beautiful historic buildings. As a historic preservation expert, Megan will share effective tools for protecting historic districts from out of scale redevelopment. Megan's previous work at the City of Coral Gables in the North Ponce Neighborhood Conservation District and current work at PlusUrbia on the Little Havana Me Importa Revitalization Plan allows her to share a unique perspective, expertise, and new ideas, such as creating a strategic partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation how to adapt incentives to promote preservation in a key neighborhood.Megan McLaughlin is a certified planner, urban designer and preservationist who has over 15 years of experience. She is the preservation planning leader for PlusUrbia Design and has served as City of Miami Preservation Officer and as City of Coral Gables City Planner. McLaughlin has extensive experience in policy, code and guiding appropriate urban infill development for historic downtown/main street districts.
PlusUrbia's Director, Juan Mullerat, presented at the 56th International Making Cities Livable Conference on "A Healthy City for All" in Portland, Oregon.His presentation focused on the recently published "Little Havana Me Importa Revitalization Master Plan". More information about the presentation below:Healthy living must be the outcome of every urban design process. What began as a project to protect Little Havana’s unique character -- while improving this neglected, affordable, historic neighborhood -- became a flagship master plan based on healthy solutions for re-investment in the community.Little Havana is one of Miami’s oldest inner-city neighborhoods. By virtually every measure, the community has a significantly higher index of chronic diseases and report more issues with daily health concerns, than the average for the city or nation.Little Havana is a dense, low- to mid-rise community with very low rates owner-occupied housing and median household incomes far below city- and countywide average. Rampant development pressures threaten the livability of the culturally-rich community.Contextual design, that respected history, heritage and cultural identity, focused on producing healthy outcomes via:• Enhancing walkability, parks and public transportation -- to promote exercise and fresh air while reducing expensive car dependency.• Encouraging preservation/restoration of 1920s and 1930s residential and commercial buildings – to maintain affordable housing and access to jobs in a high cost of living city.• Creating green, play streets that take cars off the road to create safe neighborhood open space.• Reconnecting to the Miami River, a working river lacking public access for the community.• Crafting complete streets with multimodal mobility to support safe movement through the human-scaled neighborhood.• Writing design guidelines that encourage high density with low- to mid-rise buildings that promote access to community live, improving living conditions with both physical and mental benefits. JUAN MULLERAT, Assoc. AIA, APA, is the Founder of Plusurbia Design – a firm that specializes in land planning and city building. As a designer with over 25 years of experience, Mullerat has received numerous awards for his projects around the world, including the APA’s 2017 National Economic Planning Award for the Wynwood Master Plan and the 2015 Kinpan Design Award for Songhua Lake Design. In 2013 he was honored as the Urban Designer of the Year by the AIA in Miami. Mullerat has designed buildings, neighborhoods and cities in five continents and is currently dedicated to solving transportation, revitalization and housing issues through his firm and by lecturing at the University of Miami on health in the cities, urban revitalization and place making.
National Trust for Historic Preservation, PlusUrbia Design and local partners issue report with input from over 2,700 Little Havana residents and stakeholders.Miami (June 11, 2019) – With the goal of promoting the revitalization of the Little Havana neighborhood for current and future residents, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and PlusUrbia Design today released a master plan focused on building a healthy, equitable and resilient neighborhood community in Little Havana. The plan, put together over the course of more than two years and with the input of over 2,700 neighborhood residents and stakeholders and several local partners, brings together best practices and the latest thinking from a range of fields—from public health to urban planning to architectural design and historic preservation. It is the first plan of its kind to focus specifically on revitalizing and improving the quality of life for people in Miami’s most iconic neighborhood.The revitalization plan includes input from a collection of civic and non-profit organizations currently working in Little Havana, including: The Health Foundation of South Florida, Live Healthy Little Havana, Urban Health Partnerships and Dade Heritage Trust.From the time the National Trust named Little Havana a National Treasure in January of 2017, the Trust and its local partners led by Plusurbia Design, a local planning firm, have been focused on ways to retain the things that make this place one of America’s most beloved neighborhoods. While it is an iconic historic place, Little Havana is also a dynamic urban neighborhood whose residents face a range of challenges and threats, including poverty, sub-standard housing, displacement, poor transportation options and insufficient open space. This plan is an attempt to comprehensively address these challenges by bringing together an integrated set of national best practices from a diverse array of professional perspectives. Rather than a regulatory approach, the plan relies on increasing incentives, lowering barriers and respecting the existing heritage of Little Havana.“Little Havana is the heart and soul of Miami. It is also a longstanding symbol of the immigrant experience and one of the most essential places in America,” said Robert Nieweg, NTHP. “But there is no denying that this important place is also facing a range of threats, and its residents confront significant challenges on a daily basis, from sub-standard housing to poor transportation options to a lack of green space. In developing this plan, we listened to the concerns of thousands of local residents and stakeholders, and took advantage of the latest thinking in fields from public health to urban planning to architectural design and historic preservation to find solutions to these concerns. This is the first report of its kind, and webelieve it can be a road map for making life better for current and future Little Havanaresidents”"La Pequeña Habana is one of the best-known Latin-American barrios in the United States,"said Juan Mullerat, principal at PlusUrbia Design. "Though the neighborhood is one of Miami’spremier tourist destinations, those who spend time there know that its real value lies in itspeople and the legacies they have built over many generations in the neighborhood. This plan isinspired by the culture of Little Havana, and it seeks to ensure that this unique place and thepeople who created it will always have a home here." ABOUT THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATIONThe National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization, works to save America’s historic places. www.SavingPlaces.orgABOUT PLUSURBIA DESIGNPlusurbia Design is a Miami-based planning firm that designs contextual cities, towns and neighborhoodscollaboratively to create lasting value. www.plusurbia.comMEDIA CONTACTS: VIRGIL MCDILL, NATIONAL TRUST, 202.294.9187, VIRGILMCDILL@GMAIL.COMJUAN MULLERAT, PLUSURBIA DESIGN, 305.444.4850, JUAN@PLUSURBIA.COMRelated articles:WLRNhttps://www.wlrn.org/post/little-havana-revitalization-plan-released-will-now-go-actionThe Real Dealhttps://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/06/11/little-havana-could-be-redeveloped-like-wynwood/El Nuevo Heraldhttps://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/finanzas/acceso-miami/comunidades/article231432093.htmlWJCThttps://news.wjct.org/post/little-havana-revitalization-plan-released-will-now-go-actionCBS Miamihttps://miami.cbslocal.com/video/4102931-city-of-miami-unveils-plan-for-revitalization-of-little-havana/NBC Miamihttps://www.nbcmiami.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Mayor-Unveils-Plan-to-Revitalize-Little-Havana_Miami-511153152.htmlArchinecthttps://archinect.com/news/article/150141827/revitalization-plan-for-miami-s-little-havana-to-focus-on-more-affordable-housing-and-healthy-urban-livingCalle Ocho Newshttps://calleochonews.com/new-revitalization-plan-little-havana-me-importa/
Plusurbia's Juan Mullerat and Cristina Parrilla presented a preview of the Little Havana Revitalization Master Plan at Commissioner Higgins’ Kick off Reception for the East Little Havana Alliance. This event is will be followed up with this Saturday's Clean Up Flagler! event. Follow the link to the article from Community Newspapers below for more information:http://communitynewspapers.com/biscayne-bay/commissioner-higgins-launches-east-little-havana-alliance Images from the kickoff event:
PlusUrbia's Principal, Juan Mullerat, is looking forward to participate in the roundtable discussion "Future of the American City: Miami." The event will take place at the Conrad Miami, 1395 Brickell Avenue, 2nd Floor, Vila Real from 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6th.From the Harvard University Graduate School of Design:Dean Mohsen Mostafavi of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) convened a roundtable discussion to update attendees on the Future of the American City: Miami initiative and present findings of and elicit discussion on the “Mobility Oriented Design: The Case of Miami Metrorail,” funded by the Lennar Foundation. The work done on three Transit Oriented Developments in the City of Miami for the past year makes Juan a knowledgeable participant who can provide valuable input for for a discussion of this topic.
PlusUrbia's Principal, Juan Mullerat, is excited to be speaking at the East Little Havana Partners Kick-Off Reception, hosted by Commissioner Eileen Higgins, Mayor Francis Suarez, and CAMACOL. It is a welcome opportunity to help celebrate the reactivation of Flagler Street and to share what has been learned from our ongoing planning efforts in Little Havana.
PlusUrbia's Principal, Juan Mullerat, will participate on a panel called "What do you mean disruption?" organized by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce as a part of their leadership Miami program. See below for more info:Date: Saturday, March 2nd, 2019Time: 10:15AM -11:15AMLocation: Camillus HouseSpeaking Topic: What do we mean by disruption? How are you shifting your respective industries?Audience: Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Leadership Miami Program - 80 program participants who are typically emerging and mid-career professionals representing a variety of sectors and industries (literally everything from banking to healthcare to real estate to marketing and more), coming together to learn about community issues and leadership skills.The goal of the Disruption & Community Development Session is to introduce program participants to the various ways our community is growing and changing. We would like them to interrogate what their role is in shaping Miami's community and economy, as well as can help develop individual leadership skills.
PlusUrbia's Principal, Juan Mullerat, was invited to participate at the staff retreat for District 5 with Commissioner Eileen Higgins, held at the Perez Art Museum (PAMM) Library. Juan was asked specifically to talk about what makes an ideal community and the vision moving forward for Miami-Dade County. He is grateful and excited to have been able to share his ideas on an ideal Miami based on his experience on urban revitalization, place making, healthy design, transportation, and providing quality of life for all residents.
Juan Mullerat was invited to participate in the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Density and Smart Growth City Commission Workshop with the City of Tamarac. Having recently updated its land development code, future land use element and map of its comprehensive plan, and zoning map, the City faces the challenge of encouraging redevelopment while also protecting its traditional neighborhoods and encouraging smart growth with a responsible increase in density.The purpose for the workshop was to serve as a tool to educate all stakeholders on the concept of density and how it compliments existing zoning, to eliminate the notion that increased density might be a potential threat to quality of life, and to show examples of urban villages that have maintained their small town feel while creating a vibrant, walkable, livable environment for growth. Juan's presentation focused specifically on design, planning, and density.
PlusUrbia’s Little Havana Me Importa: Holistic Guidelines for Social Equity, a Livable Community and Healthy Outcomes in Miami’s Most Historic Neighborhoods project has been selected as a finalist for the 56th IMCL Design Awards competition.Design Awards winners will be announced June 19 during the International Making Cities Livable Conference in Portland. PlusUrbia founding principal Juan Mullerat will also be a featured speaker at the conference.The Little Havana Me Importa plan creates guidelines for healthy, resilient and more affordable solutions for Little Havana. The plan respects Little Havana’s small-scale, culturally rich and dense community. It creates a more livable city while protecting residents, neighborhood character and historic buildings. More than 3,000 residents and stakeholders provided input and drove the vision and objectives for Miami’s most diverse and historically significant neighborhood.The implementation plan, created in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, will:Reinforce and enhance cultural identity.Establish a multimodal transportation system.Increase and enhance natural assets.Incentivize community building with guidelines that retain the essence of Little Havana, including requiring new construction to match the neighborhood’s character and scale.Support affordable housing while introducing a mix of incomes and increasing home ownership within low-rise buildings. PlusUrbia is a planning a design office that often works with national and local partners to strengthen and improve its work. "Little Havana Me Importa Plan" is a partnership between the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Plusurbia Design with the collaboration of the Health Foundation, Dade Heritage Trust and Urban Health Partnerships. Their involvement was key to deliver a project that is relevant and provides solutions catered specifically to the needs of Little Havana, its culture and its people.Visit https://www.livablecities.org/ for more information about International Making Cities Livable Council.
