Project for Public Spaces
Work With Us
Free Newsletter
Stay Connected
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Training
  • Projects
  • Placemaking Blog
  • Resources
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 [...]

Continue Reading
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 [...]

Continue Reading
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 [...]

Continue Reading
Detroiters crowd the Placemaking Hut to vote for their favorite ideas for improving downtown spaces / Photo: PPS

Pop-Up Placemaking: Connecting the Dots in Detroit

By Project for Public Spaces on Dec 4, 2012 | 3 Comments

What do you want to see happening in your favorite public spaces? This is one of the questions at the core of the Placemaking process, and getting responses from as many different people as possible has always been central to what we do at the Project for Public Spaces. But now, as our work in [...]

Continue Reading
houston1

Houston Library Plaza: Building Knowledge, Building Community

By Project for Public Spaces on Nov 14, 2012 | 1 Comment

Library culture in the city of Houston is undergoing an exciting shift as the Houston Public Library reconsiders its public role. Instead of thinking of its programming as needing to remain within the building’s four walls, recent efforts are pulling the activity into outdoor spaces. Building upon the momentum of other successful downtown [...]

Continue Reading
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 [...]

Continue Reading

The Mystery Plaza at Astor Place

By Brendan Crain on Apr 12, 2012 | Add Comment
The presence of an ephemeral "mystery plaza" at Astor Place offers a unique opportunity to visualize a grand new public space in Manhattan.
Continue Reading

Remember the Edges!

By Project for Public Spaces on Mar 23, 2012 | 1 Comment
When trying to create a great public square, remember that the inner square and outer square must work together.
Continue Reading

In Nairobi, Re-Framing Mundane Spaces as Exciting Places

By Cynthia Nikitin on Mar 12, 2012 | 5 Comments
Cynthia Nikitin reports back on lessons learned during the first placemaking training in Nairobi run through PPS's partnership with UN-Habitat.
Continue Reading

San Antonio Is a Popping City!

By Project for Public Spaces on Mar 5, 2012 | 1 Comment
San Antonio is putting a lot of energy into remaking its downtown as a place for people.
Continue Reading
The scene at Zuccotti Park back in October. Photo: Sarah Goodyear

Zuccotti Park and OWS: “A Stiff, Clarifying Test” for Privately Owned Public Spaces

By Sarah Goodyear on Nov 10, 2011 | 1 Comment
Just how public are New York's publicly owned private spaces? Fred Kent discusses the question with WNYC's Brian Lehrer.
Continue Reading

People Are Talking About Placemaking…

By Fred Kent on Nov 2, 2011 | 2 Comments
Placemaking is in the news these days, and it's got us thinking that we are at an exciting moment in history.
Continue Reading
12345Next »

  • Filter Blog Posts By Type

    • Campuses
    • Civic Centers
    • Downtowns
    • Events
    • Great Public Spaces
    • Historic Preservation
    • Markets
    • Multi-Use
    • Parks
    • Placemaker Profiles
    • Places in the News
    • PPS Video
    • Project Updates
    • Squares
    • Training
    • Transportation
    • Waterfronts

  • Filter Blog Posts By Agenda

    • Architecture of Place
    • Building Communities through Transportation
    • Creating Public Multi-use Destinations
    • Public Markets and Local Economies