Mesa Architects challenge neighborhood problems through collaborative thinking
The Mesa Architects, a volunteer community group of Mesa residents who also happen to be architects and urban designers, have been grappling with ways to strengthen their community by promoting improved transportation systems, better access to recreational opportunities, creation of new community centers, and increased awareness of sustainable design. Arcadia Studio's Derrik Eichelberger, the lone landscape architect in the group, joined with Dennis Thompson, David Van Hoy, Jeff King, Jim Bell, John Kelley, Tom Morrison and Chris Cotrell last December, and has been active working on streetscape improvements to Cliff Drive designed to slow traffic and make it safer and more pleasant for cars, bikes and pedestrians.
An interactive web-site highlighting the work of the Mesa Architects can be accessed at MesaVillage.org. In addition, many of the ideas the group has been working on have been presented to great acclaim at several public workshops, and is now being added to the upcoming comprehensive planning document being prepared by the City of Santa Barbara as a model of development for the Mesa.