Rapid 5 was an initiative by ULI Columbus and MORPC to bring local design firms together to create a cohesive plan for the city’s main riparian corridors. REALM was assigned to the Big Darby corridor, tasked with the creation of a vision book and board, describing a plan to create opportunities and projects which addressed disconnects within the community, made green-gray connections, spurred economic development, advanced environmental sustainability, and improve recreation opportunities while focusing on inclusiveness.

REALM imagined the region as “Darby Creeks”, a journey that connected multiple destinations along the watershed, eventually becoming a tourism region. By connecting to existing Metro Parks, farms, trails, and transportation infrastructure, the region could flip its identity to one of exploration and adventure. Through the connection of these spaces and the addition of more unique experiences to the region, REALM imagines Darby Creeks as becoming an economic booster, but also a step in creating green-gray connections that created a new standard for sustainable tourism.

The deliverable for this research culminated as a sort of travel booklet, with identifiable branding for the region, as well as potential sites of interest and investment for recreation, building up local villages and towns, and tapping into existing infrastructure of the city.