Once one of the busiest downtowns in Indiana, the heart of Hammond—the inspiration of the film A Christmas Story—has seen almost complete disinvestment since the 1960s. Fortunately, bold leadership recently secured for the city a new rail stop offering convenient commuter service to the Chicago loop.

To make the most of this opportunity, the City hired the firm to create, through a public charrette process, a plan that would shape regional housing demand into an urban framework to attract investment. The resulting plan reconfigured the street network, restriped most downtown streets, created a new main square and transit square, designated new housing sites, and transformed Hohman Avenue, the city’s main street, from a surface highway into a drivable linear plaza, now built.

In an early win, the plan managed to move the train station a full block closer to the heart of downtown. This award-winning project is the centerpiece of the PBS documentary Walkable USA.