Member Programs

KyDAT

What is KyDAT?

The Kentucky Design Assistance Team (KyDAT) visit is an intensive four-day program during which design professionals and their colleagues direct their collective expertise and vision towards specific community design challenges identified by public officials and private citizens in that community. Whether it is downtown revitalization plans, new parking schemes, streetscape improvements or other approaches to solving community planning problems, KyDAT can help communities visualize their future in innovative ways. The KyDAT team prepares a printed report or CD ROM version of its findings, with both written analysis and graphics that community leaders can revisit and use long after the KyDAT effort is over.

Team Members

KyDAT teams are traditionally made up of architects, landscape architects, planners, engineers, attorneys, developers, economic development specialists, financial advisors and others who want to help a community build on its own vision for the future and develop strategies for that vision to be realized. All team members are highly skilled volunteers who direct their time and talent to the cause of improving Kentucky’s communities.

Citizen Participation

From the local steering committee members and public officials to the general public, citizen participation is at the heart of the KyDAT program. Throughout the visit, team members solicit ideas and input from a wide array of individuals and community groups. This is done through community meetings, one-on-one consultations, site visits and more. The team’s mission is to analyze the diverse input from local citizens and create solutions that address as many of their dreams as possible.

Program History

Since 1981, KyDAT has visited over a dozen Kentucky communities, large and small, each time addressing a unique set of opportunities and challenges. These cities include: Ashland, Carrollton, Covington, Dawson Springs, Georgetown, Henderson, Middlesboro, Owensboro, Paducah, Pikeville, Russellville and Somerset. In 2002, a KyDAT team was organized in conjunction with the regional planning group Bluegrass Tomorrow to conduct a study of the Southland Drive corridor in Lexington. In 2004, a Louisville-based team has scheduled a similar program focusing on a 10-block stretch of Oak Street in “Old Louisville.”

How to Get Involved

• Identify community planning issues and opportunities
• Organize a local steering committee
• Obtain commitment and financial support from government, business and community groups
• Complete the KyDAT application

AIA Kentucky conducts KyDAT visits as often as is practical based on expressed needs from communities and professional volunteer resources available. To obtain an application, click here to download or contact us at (859) 223-8201 or info@aiaky.org

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