"R/UDAT," the acronym on the green banners coloring downtown Salt Lake City, is short for Regional/ Urban Design Assistance Team.
The study team, a tool of the American Institute of Architects, will bring outside experts to town June 3-6 for an intensive focus on downtown Salt Lake City's problems.
Charles M. Davis, a San Francisco architect who has been selected team leader, will meet with community organizations and city officials May 23 and 24 in his second information-gathering visit.
Others who will join Davis on the R/UDAT team are Norman A. Abbott, city planning director for Portland; Philip T. Henderson, a professional development consultant from Cambridge, Mass.; Alan Y. Fugimori, landscape architect and urban designer from Dallas, Texas; David Markley, transportation specialist from Redmond, Wash.; Terry Stevens and architect and urban designer from San Francisco.
Davis said the major objective of study is to help divergent interests focus complex urban design prolems.
Team members receive no compensation for serving on an R/UDAT team and, to preserve their objectivity, agree not to accept any commissions resulting from the the study. The host city pays $30,000 for the study, in cash and in-kind contributions.
With the political support of Mayor Palmer DePaulis and the City Council, the Salt Lake R/UDAT study was initiated by the Central Business Improvement District board, the Urban Design Coalition, leaders who developed the Second Century Plan for downtown Salt Lake City 25 years ago.