National Planning Accolades for Williamson-Marquette Neighborhood

Madison Mayor Paul Soglin was joined Friday by Sixth District Alder Marsha Rummel, Marquette Neighborhood Association leaders Lindsey Lee and David Mollenhoff and American Planning Association (APA) representative Larry Ward in celebrating Madison's Williamson-Marquette Neighborhood designation as a Top 10 Great Neighborhood. Each year during National Community Planning Month, APA's Great Places in America program names 30 exemplary neighborhoods, street and public spaces to highlight the role planning plays in adding value to communities. "Marquette has a vibrancy that is a benchmark for other neighborhoods," said Mayor Soglin. "It has the beauty of the lakes, the excitement of the new, emerging business risk-takers and is a home for persons from all walks of life." Located on the Isthmus, Marquette is a short walk or bike ride from Madison's downtown, the State Capitol, and the University. APA officials singled it out for its location and walkability as well as revitalization efforts after decade of decline and strong community engagement. "The Marquette Neighborhood has the rich legacy of a place built up before the era of the automobile. Shops, entertainment, and employment are all located within walking distance of our homes. This is the foundation on which our Great Neighborhood was built," said Alder Marsha Rummel. "As we develop and redevelop areas of the City, we should aim to create other great neighborhoods with the same human scale and mix of uses as Marquette." In noting the revitalization the neighborhood has undergone, Marquette Neighborhood Association President Michael Jacob said, "In 1970, the Marquette Neighborhood Association wrote Madison's first neighborhood-initiated plan. Forty-two years later the Marquette Neighborhood is among the most vibrant any community could hope for. That is the result of careful planning and intense neighborhood activism to both grow and change with the times and yet preserve and enhance the character that makes Marquette unique. Through the years, planning has saved historic homes, kept Marquette Elementary intact as a neighborhood school, and laid the groundwork for Central Park, which is being developed as we speak. We've grown carefully and deliberately to keep the Marquette Neighborhood a 'place for all people,' respecting our past and looking ahead to the future. Today, we recognize that when neighbors care deeply about their neighborhood, great things happen."