AIA and PPS Team Up for Training Course

Based on PPS's 25 years of experience in place-making and inspired by our popular book, How to Turn a Place Around, this one-day course (July 25, with an optional walking tour on July 26) is designed to explore the relationship between architecture and public spaces. The course draws on the pioneering work of our mentor, William H. Whyte, and his Street Life Project study of New York public spaces.

Course participants will learn techniques for evaluating how buildings positively and negatively impact the adjacent uses and activities of streets and public spaces, as well as a process for retrofitting or designing buildings that are more sensitive to their public space context.

In addition, participants will learn strategies to improve public spaces and strengthen real and perceived security, accessibility, and comfort - all while increasing use and contributing to the livability of the city. The on-site portion of the workshop will occur in specific places in Midtown and or Lower Manhattan, including a corporate plaza, a public park, and a commercial street.

Click here for details.

Awards Season

They may not get as much attention as the Oscars (or even the Tonys), but nonprofits hold awards ceremonies too. June sees PPS honored at two such events. First up are the Mumford Awards, presented by Architects, Designers, and Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) on June 8. Named for Lewis Mumford, the awards honor people and organizations that "exemplify the ADPSR goals of peace, preservation of the natural and built environment, and socially responsible development." Past honorees in the development category include Habitat for Humanity and Jaime Lerner, former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil.

On June 17, Partners for Livable Communities (PLC) will present PPS President Fred Kent with the inaugural William H. Whyte award at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The award recognizes individuals who "have exemplified and maintained the mission and ardor of William H. Whyte in urbanology." Fred is a fitting selection, since his work at PPS has put into practice and expanded the research he conducted as part of Whyte's Street Life Project.

See what both of the award presenters have to offer:

Architects, Designers, and Planners for Social Responsibility

Partners for Livable Communities

New Listserve Addresses Children's Obesity

Project for Public Spaces has set up a new listserve for people interested in reducing and preventing obesity in children. Participants include health professionals, planners, community leaders, foundations, child advocacy groups, police and housing professionals etc.

In the United States, 27 percent of 10-year-olds are overweight or obese, the third highest percentage in the world behind Malta (33 percent) and Italy (29 percent). Childhood obesity is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, including risks for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Both diseases are reaching epidemic proportions in inner-city children.

The problems are not confined to the "developed" world. According to the International Obesity Task Force, in some areas of Africa there are more children who are overweight than malnourished. For example, in Morocco and Zambia, up to 20 percent of the 4-year-olds are overweight or obese.

Join in the discussion to help identify innovative approaches and potential solutions to this problem: Send a blank email to Kidsobesity-subscribe@topica.com.