• 
  PPS establishes the Urban Parks Institute--the first body to promote parks as catalysts for community revitalization to a nationwide audience--thanks to a grant from the Wallace Funds. See Greatest Hits.


• 
  Public Markets and Community Revitalization published. PPS consolidates eight years of research to produce a guidebook covering all aspects of creating and running public markets--from simple, inexpensive farmers and crafts markets to large market districts.

• Kathy Madden's impassioned speech to department heads of the federal Department of Transportation leads to establishment of the Transportation and Livable Communities Consortium, a strategic collaboration among 18 national organizations in the public and private sectors to promote streets and transit that enhance communities. Meeting organizers, wary that Fred Kent will insult the audience, assign him to slide projector duty.


• 
  Molly the office dog bites Rick Marianni, an executive at New Jersey Transit and PPS's biggest client at the time. Marianni later says of the PPS office, "I don't know what it is you do here, but I like it."

In the News

New York Times, March 17, 1996.

This piece in the Times recounts how PPS's recommendations made New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal, once perceived as a chaotic mess, safer for people and more attractive for retail businesses.

• 
  Andy Wiley-Schwartz, reformed investment banker and featured expert on numerous nationally-televised personal finance programs, joins staff of PPS. He is now an assistant vice-president and leads efforts in program development, strategic planning, and communications.


• PPS launches its first websites: pps.org and urbanparks.org (Urban Parks Online). Today the PPS sites receive over 3000 visitors each day.

In the News

Newark Star-Ledger, October 3, 1997.

PPS's work to rejuvenate NJ Transit train stations led to a 40% increase in ridership at the historic Netherwood station in Plainfield, NJ, spurring further investments in the adjacent business district.

• 
  PPS conducts community-based planning initiatives in Los Angeles as part of effort to repair and rejuvenate neighborhoods affected by the 1992 riots. Neighborhood groups plant trees, paint and install new streetlights, hang colorful banners, redesign streets to be more pedestrian friendly, and revitalize vacant lots as parks and community gathering places.

In the News

Washington Post, October 9, 1998.

This article described PPS's work with the Downtown DC BID to rejuvenate the public spaces around several downtown streets, including Herald Square and Freedom Plaza.

• 
  PPS joins forces with the General Services Administration (GSA), beginning a landmark, nationwide effort to create safe, attractive, people-friendly public spaces around courthouses, government offices, and other federal buildings. See Greatest Hits.


• 
  Setting a new standard for parks as catalysts for economic development, PPS works with local stakeholders to make the new Campus Martius Park the centerpiece of Detroit's downtown renaissance. See Greatest Hits.


• PPS develops its first five-year Strategic Plan, setting the goal of becoming the leading international resource for people working to create and sustain public spaces that build communities.