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Jeffery Tompkins

@jefferytompkins

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Founder & Principal @weareproformus
urban planner + strategist
let’s make your places happen ➡️

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What if your city’s vacant commercial was actually its greatest food source?

The Urban Farms Toolkit is here to answer that question.

It’s time to rethink what a farm can be. Farms can be neighborhood focused. They can be hyperlocal. They can be clean. They can fit within your block. The technology for indoor and urban agriculture is already here. But our codes haven’t kept up with advances in technology that make Urban Farms easy infill opportunities.

Proformus created the Urban Farms Toolkit along with Area 2 Farms to fix that disconnect.

The problem? Our zoning codes are often stuck in the past, viewing agriculture as something that only happens “out there” rather than right here in our neighborhoods. This toolkit provides municipalities with the specific language needed to unlock these sites for productive use, turning regulatory barriers into pathways for fresh food, jobs, and adaptive reuse.

Don’t let your code stand in the way of innovation.
Download the toolkit at the link in bio for free

It’s time to reconnect people to food taken in Washington D. C. by @jefferytompkins

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8 months ago

Repurposing the suburbs, one parking lot at a time. 🌳🚗➡️🏡

We created the Mall to Village (MTV) Model to show how easy it is to shift gravity from commerce to community. By wrapping parking lots in housing and swapping retail for civic spaces, we can turn dead malls into vibrant neighborhoods. by @jefferytompkins

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10 months ago

Families aren’t fleeing cities; they are being designed out of them.

Cities are losing young families not because families don’t want urban life, but because urban life rarely offers the types of housing families need. We at Proformus think the answer lay with rethinking the single-family lot.

Families today look different from the nuclear-family image baked into 1950s zoning. Yet we keep planning and regulating as if “family” still means a breadwinner, a stay-at-home parent, two children, and a car for every adult.

North Carolina is currently a leader on land use reform, but the conversation often gets stuck on the “what” rather than the “how.” We partnered with Carolina Forward to answer a simple question: What does upzoning actually look like for our neighborhoods?

The answer isn’t just massive apartment blocks. It’s incremental. It’s sensitive. It’s granular. And it can fit on single-family lots.

In our latest study focusing on Charlotte, Raleigh, and the Research Triangle, we visualized missing-middle typologies from cottage courts to 6-plexes, all hoping to maximize traditional single-family lots that can fit more into the existing architectural heritage of these communities. While these were simple “test fits”, they go to show just how much conventional single-family lots can actually hold.

These ideations are proof that we don’t have to choose between housing abundance and neighborhood character. We can (and must) have both.

Check out the full visual study at our site in bio taken in Charlotte, North Carolina by @jefferytompkins

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10 months ago

day 10/13: The terminator: this one works to create a four way intersection with all through traffic allowed on College and Mass but eliminating all turns beside northbound College traffic onto Mass or St Clair. St Clair eastbound is terminated at College creating a cul-de-sac pickup dropoff zone. The east leg of St Clair becomes is fed off Mass, and all westbound traffic is right turn only taken in Indianapolis, Indiana by @jefferytompkins

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a year ago

Day 9/13: F*** it, no turns except from northbound College. Curb bulb outs reduce crossing width for every pedestrian crossing. Short sight distances and narrow roadways mean slower speeds. Keep the stoplights, don’t care taken in Indianapolis, Indiana by @jefferytompkins

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a year ago

Day 8/11 (but actually 8/13 since I’ve miscounted the days to the protest on Sunday):

These are increasingly getting more chaotic but its fine.

I call this one the Isthmus. the point is that College southbound becomes an all way stop with Mass and St Clair. Eastbound St. Clair terminates into College, allowing turn offs into Mass Ave and Mass Ave to flow through to College. Northbound College continues along St Clair to feed traffic. The isthmus between the two pairs becomes a cute lil connection between the Cultural Trail and Chatham Arch.

And College gets more parking for Bottleworks. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy by @jefferytompkins

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a year ago

Day 7/11 - gotta be honest, I haven’t really thought this one entirely thru as I was busy buying a house all day - will come back to it tmrw by @jefferytompkins

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a year ago

Day 6/11 of posting intersection ideas for Mass/College until our protest on Nov 23 to highlight the need for safer streets in Indianapolis. This one is a little zany, and a bit less realistic than other concepts I’ve come up with. The idea is to essentially eliminate nearly all traffic lights (signalized intersections are one of the highest-risk locations for serious crashes) – that is, all traffic lights except College to maintain north-south traffic on the east side of downtown

The rest of the intersections are converted into right turn only traffic flows – with stop signs before each potential pedestrian crossing. This creates a series of four “Loopways” that migrate traffic in and around Mass Ave – although this would certainly come at the consternation of IndyGo routes (which could be temporarily rerouted) it could be a boon for rideshare drivers who maintain better flow during peak periods. College would remain a light, but with a flashing red acting as a floating stop sign. It’s a Sunday night, hope everyone is enjoying their football xx taken in Indianapolis, Indiana by @jefferytompkins

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a year ago

Day 5/11: This one is a simple one for a late Saturday night. Quick curb bulb outs on College turn four lanes of thru traffic into two, with two additional parking lanes created for overflow. Thru traffic on St Clair is eliminated in lieu of turn only paths, with eastbound traffic turning either north or south on Mass Ave. Westbound traffic on St Clair would only be able to turn left south on Mass Ave. Turns would be eliminated on College, with extended sight triangles to prevent accidents. by @jefferytompkins

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a year ago

Day 4/11 : This one is partially inspired by Parque México and Parque España in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City as well as Logan Square in Chicago. The idea is to quickly create a Radial–Diagonal Circulation Pattern that allows full movement of circulation north and south along Mass Ave but make the heavy speeding traffic of St Clair and College slow the f down

The turn radii allows for heavy trucks to access the Mayflower lot on St Clair as well as school and IndyGo buses. The “Parque Mass” could host pop up planters with trees to intimate a real park – this will slow down traffic even further. Perhaps even the daring tourist will linger for a picture. Good potential for an art piece.

Orange Barrels not included

Not as cheap as the other ideas – but could realistically be done in a couple weeks (using faux-trees could be a cheap fix until real trees and planters are found). Heck, put up some indoor outdoor turf and some lawn chairs, call it a day. I kid…only a little though. Stop lights could work mainly as is – with minimal reprogramming to relay new timings and eliminate left turns

THIS INTERSECTION NEEDS A REDESIGN- we are protesting November 23rd - come out. DM for more or get in contact with @jakebudler

@bikepeople taken in Indianapolis, Indiana by @jefferytompkins

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a year ago

Day 3/11 - I will be posting a quick build idea for the intersection of Mass/College each day until our protest on Nov 23. Currently, the big speeding through red lights mainly affects drivers coasting north/south through College and with long lines along College northbound during peak periods. This concept eliminates two through southbound lanes on College and terminates one into St Clair for local traffic

St. Clair east bound through the intersection is eliminated to offset the longest sight distance of the intersection. Total cost for paint and materials is estimated at less than $10,000 with some reprogramming of traffic lights and inclusion of stop signs at new slip lanes. This will realistically slow down traffic in most of the high speed corners. taken in Indianapolis, Indiana by @jefferytompkins

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a year ago

Currently, the Mass/College intersection has too many conflict points. This could be resolved by turning College into a two lane road, and letting it terminate into St Clair as a feeder road. This creates so much more parking for Mass Ave and a new Bottleworks Plaza! See before/after. Cost of materials would be cheap, and new signs could go up overnight.

These materials could be quickly installed, and did I say cheap. It would involve reconfiguration of existing street lights but eliminate ones for College and St Clair in lieu of a stop sign.

I will be posting a new idea for the intersection everyday until our protest on the 23rd at Mass/College. Reach out to learn more taken in Bottleworks Indy by @jefferytompkins

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a year ago