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Book Review: Made for Walking: Density and Neighborhood Form

By Brendan Crain on Apr 9, 2013 | 1 Comment

Arguments about density are often front and center when walkability is being discussed. We know that density is an important factor in encouraging more walking (and discouraging driving), but walkability is a particularly complex, and seemingly ephemeral quality. Whether or not a person chooses to walk depends on so many factors beyond just [...]

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Capitol Park will become a hub for arts and creativity / Image: PPS

Detroit Leads the Way on Place-Centered Revitalization

By Project for Public Spaces on Mar 29, 2013 | 13 Comments

You may have heard about downtown Detroit’s big comeback story. Campus Martius has become one of America’s great urban squares. Demand for housing has outstripped supply for months. Major tech firms like Twitter are opening up offices in refurbished historic buildings. The Motor City’s historic core is ascendant.

Yesterday, at an event hosted by [...]

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A great third place draws people from many backgrounds / Photo: PPS

To Make a Great Third Place, Get Out of the Way

By Project for Public Spaces on Mar 14, 2013 | 1 Comment

The following article was written for the Fall 2012 issue of Shelterforce magazine.
Click here to view the original version on their website.

———————

You are never finished. That is one of PPS’s 11 principles for creating great community places. For anyone working to create a great “third [...]

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Click here to view a slideshow of the results of the kids' workshop!

Want to Create Family-Friendly Places? Get the Kids at the Table!

By Project for Public Spaces on Mar 6, 2013 | 3 Comments

In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake changed the face of downtown Santa Cruz, damaging dozens of buildings and hobbling the local retail scene. The Cooper House, which had been a key public gathering space in this oceanfront city’s core, was ruined. When the site was re-developed, a larger building was placed along the street, and [...]

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All Placemaking is Creative: How a Shared Focus on Place Builds Vibrant Destinations

By Project for Public Spaces on Mar 4, 2013 | 14 Comments

This is the first of a three-part series on transformative Placemaking. To read part two, click here. To read part three, click here.

Placemaking is a process, accessible to anyone, that allows peoples’ creativity to emerge. When it is open and inclusive, this process can be extraordinarily effective in making people feel attached [...]

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Announcing The Future of Places Conference Series

By Project for Public Spaces on Feb 10, 2013 | Add Comment

On June 24-26th, 2013, Placemaking leaders from around the world will gather together with UN officials, representatives from international government agencies, NGOs, designers, change agents, mayors, local politicians, and other place-centered actors for The Future of Places, the first of three linked conferences that will develop a ‘Future of Places Declaration’ to influence the [...]

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Connie Spellman

How to Really Look at Your City: An Interview With Connie Spellman

By Project for Public Spaces on Jan 24, 2013 | Add Comment

PPS Transportation Associate David M. Nelson is our resident expert on all things Omaha. When he heard that we were interviewing Omaha By Design director Connie  Spellman for the Placemaking Blog, he was not at a loss for words! David had this to say:

Growing up in Omaha wasn’t necessarily glamorous. In 1980s, Omaha [...]

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The first meeting of the Placemaking Leadership Council will take place in downtown Detroit, Michigan, home of the wonderful Campus Martius Park / Photo: PPS

Announcing the Placemaking Leadership Council

By Project for Public Spaces on Jan 13, 2013 | 26 Comments

For those of us who are passionate about the public spaces in our communities, this is an extraordinary time. The general awareness of the importance of a strong sense of place—to the economy, to our social fabric, to human health—is growing stronger every day. Placemaking is, at this moment, being transformed from a useful tool [...]

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Book Review: Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time

By Brendan Crain on Dec 13, 2012 | 4 Comments

Jeff Speck’s new book, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time, is worth a read for its acerbic wit, alone. The author fits a remarkable collection of data and anecdotal evidence from his long career in urban design (which included a four-year stint at the helm of the National [...]

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Alamo Plaza bustles thanks to a temporary market during Team Better Block's last San Antonio project / Photo: Better Block

Better Block, Better City: An Interview With Andrew Howard

By Project for Public Spaces on Dec 5, 2012 | Add Comment

Andrew Howard is one of the founding members of Team Better Block, a group that works to implement Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper strategies for the temporary revitalization of streets and public spaces in the short-term, to inspire people to think differently about how those places could evolve. Team Better Block recently took recommendations straight from [...]

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Two Parisians relax in Luxembourg Gardens, one of their city's flagship public spaces / Photo: PPS

What Makes a Great Public Destination? Is it Possible to Build One Where You Live?

By Project for Public Spaces on Nov 11, 2012 | 10 Comments

In a recent blog post, entrepreneur-turned-VC Mark Suster wrote about the necessary ingredients for a city trying o develop a successful start-up community. His advice seemed applicable to any community that’s trying to create a strong local sense of place, so we’ve retrofitted his recommendations to speak broadly to people who are working to [...]

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Locals mill about Silanga Field, which will soon become the Silanga Community Centre / Photo: PPS

Creating Common Ground in a City Divided

By Project for Public Spaces on Nov 9, 2012 | 5 Comments

In Nairobi, Kenya, the contrast between rich and poor neighborhoods is beyond stark.  And even though half of the city’s population lives on a mere 1.5% of the total land area, in Nairobi, public space is scarce. Since the creation, by Colonial powers in 1948, of the master plan that led to the [...]

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