February 25th, 2010 | Go to Placemaking Blog Home

Can Sidewalks and Benches Spur Social Change?

Posted by: Megan MacIver

In cities burdened with poverty and unrest, or even war, it’s easy to dismiss urban amenities like benches and smooth sidewalks as luxuries that can come only after other, more urgent problems. But as this recent NYT’s article shows, subtle changes to the streets of Amman, Jordan are turning passages into places where diverse groups of people are coming together, perhaps for the first time. More than mere adornment, benches are actually hosting new connections and fostering a shared sense of belonging. Women and girls, too, say that these changes make them feel more comfortable hanging out; suggesting that even street-level adjustments have the potential to neutralize gendered space and create the conditions for social change.





Fred Kent will keynote Kansas City regional symposium on Placemaking

http://www.ohhkc.com/files/ohh_symposium.pdf



February 16th, 2010 | Go to Placemaking Blog Home

Cynthia Nikitin will speak at the 2010 International Symposium on Making Creative Parks and Gardens in Seoul, Korea

Posted by: Project for Public Spaces
Categories: Blog, Parks





Steve Davies

Senior Vice President
sdavies@pps.org

Steve Davies joined Project for Public Spaces in 1978 and has guided the development of the organization for

more than 30 years. Davies is an advocate for livable communities and his work has taken him around the world as a consultant, facilitator and speaker.

With over 500 major projects on his resume, Steve is widely admired for his expertise in downtown urban design, transportation planning, and design of mixed-use development projects and public markets. Steve has directed projects ranging from downtown master plans in major U.S. cities to design improvements for streetscapes, central squares and transit malls.

Steve has been instrumental in creating and shaping key programs at PPS over his tenure including PPS’ public market program, transportation program and PPS’ work in Eastern Europe. These programs have gone on to train thousands of professionals, support community markets and spur public space improvement projects in cities and towns across the Czech Republic.

An inspiring and accessible speaker, Steve has introduced tens of thousands of professionals to the PPS Placemaking process. Audiences have included transportation agencies, public market advocates, and hundreds of professional and community groups across the country. transportation program and PPS’ work in Eastern Europe. These programs have gone on to train thousands of professionals, support community markets and spur public space improvement projects in cities and towns across the Czech Republic.

Steve has co-authored and written many books and articles, including Public Markets and Community Revitalization, Managing Downtown Public Spaces and The Role of Transit in Creating Livable Metropolitan Communities.

Education

Williams College, Bachelor of Art in Art and Environmental Studies

University of California, Berkeley, Masters in Architecture

Awards & Honors

John K. Branner Traveling Fellowship in Architecture

Award Winner, National Endowment for the Arts Grant Recognition Program (West 46th Street Project)

Citation, Urban Design Newsletter Awards (Exxon Mini-Park Project)

Certificate of Merit, Municipal Art Society, New York City (Museum Mile Study)

Award Winner, National Endowment for the Arts Grant Recognition Program (Museum Mile Study)

Award Winner, International Downtown Executives Association Award, 1983 (Hartford Downtown Council/PPS Hartford Management program)

Award Winner, Presidential Design Jury, Federal Design Achievement Award, 1984, administered by the National Endowment for the Arts (H.U.D. project on downtown improvements in seven cities)

Publications

“The Role of Transit in Creating Livable Metropolitan Communities,” Transportation Research Board, 1996

“Public Markets and Community Revitalization,” Urban Land Institute and Project for Public Spaces, Inc., 1995

“The Effects of Environmental Design on the Amount and Type of Bicycling and Walking,” Federal Highway Administration, 1993

“Managing Downtown Public Spaces,” American Planning Association, 1984

“Designing Effective Pedestrian Improvements in Business Districts,” American Planning Association, 1983

“What do People Do Downtown? — How to Look at Mainstreet Activity,” National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1981

Categories: Staff