The Power of Ten

Why Great Places are more than the sum of their parts.

by Fred Kent

arly in 2004 we were asked by Mimi Gates, the director of the Seattle Art Museum, to review plans for a new wing of the building. PPS Vice-President Kathy Madden and I were touring the Museum grounds with a group of local citizens, brainstorming how best to generate public activity around the building. Ideas were flying, and gradually we developed a vision for a series of focal points on the grounds and inside its lobby.

As we got deeper into our discussion, someone asked, "How many separate focal points do you need to make it successful?"

At PPS, we usually don't talk in terms of numbers, so I had to give the matter some thought. I wanted to offer a challenging answer, but not something that would feel completely out of reach. "Ten," I said. "But we can't just plop down ten pieces of sculpture and say that's enough. We also need ten things to do at each focal point."

That got everyone thinking about what makes great places great. It's really a matter of offering a variety of things to do in one spot -- whose quality as a place then becomes more than the sum of its parts. A park is good. A park with a fountain, playground, and popcorn vendor is better. A library across the street is even better, more so if they feature storytelling hours for kids and exhibits on local history. If there's a sidewalk café nearby, a bus stop, a bike trail, and an ice cream parlor, then you have what most people would consider a great place.

What if a downtown had ten places that good? The area would then have a critical mass -- a series of destinations where tourists and residents alike could become immersed in the city for days at a time.

Taking the next step, what if a city could boast ten such neighborhoods? Then every resident would have access to outstanding public spaces within walking distance of their own homes. That's the sort of goal we should set for all cities if we are serious about enhancing and revitalizing urban life.

I think we can go further still. How? Apply the "Power of Ten" on a regional scale by linking towns and cities together, with major public spaces and mixed-use neighborhoods serving as connections. That could be the basis for a new paradigm of regional development that sweeps away the destructive pattern of more freeways, big box stores, and cookie-cutter subdivisions.

This idea gives people something tangible to strive for -- it helps them visualize what it takes to make their town or city great.

PPS calls this concept the Power of Ten (indebted to the classic short film, "Powers of 10," by Charles and Ray Eames), but there's no reason to get fixated on a particular number. Whether you're talking about places in a given neighborhood, or great neighborhoods within a city, "Ten" refers generally to the ultimate goals of variety and choice. When we talk about the "Power of Ten," we're stressing the fact that we should always think of how Placemaking can be accomplished at different scales.

To build our cities around places, as explored in this issue's feature story, it's not enough to have a single use dominate a particular place -- you need a diverse array of activities for people. It's not enough to have just one great place in a neighborhood -- you need a number of them to create a truly lively town. It's not enough to have one superior neighborhood in a city -- you need to provide people all over town with close-to-home opportunities to take pleasure in public life. And it's not enough to have one livable city or town in a region -- you need a collection of interesting communities.

One of the chief values of using the Power of Ten as a framework for thinking about place is its flexibility. Take the neighborhood where our office is located, Greenwich Village. There may not be ten great public spaces within its boundaries, or even five. But it makes up for this deficiency with a vibrant streetlife and hundreds of small cafes, bars, restaurants, theaters, and small shops enlivening the neighborhood. Likewise, we're sure there are towns too small to possess ten or even three distinct neighborhoods, but which succeed as places nonetheless thanks to a plethora of healthy and lively public spaces. You can bend the principles behind the Power of Ten, as long as you preserve the spirit.

This is an idea that gets people excited. Everywhere we bring up the Power of Ten, local citizens become more motivated and energized to turn their places around. We think it's because this idea gives people something tangible to strive for -- it helps them visualize what it takes to make their town or city great. As we promote a broader mission for Placemaking with our Great Cities Initiative, the Power of Ten is our way of reminding our clients, our readers, and ourselves that by starting efforts at the smallest scale, you can steadily accomplish big changes.

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