Placemaking and the Future of Cities

Produced under the auspices of the UN-HABITAT Sustainable Urban Development Network (SUD-Net) and with funding from the United Nations Federal Credit Union, Placemaking and the Future of Cities explores the ways in which placemaking is becoming increasingly relevant as our planet urbanizes. With more than half of the world's population now living in cities, the importance of engaging and inclusive public spaces grows stronger every day.

This handbook lays out the public space challenges facing fast-growing cities, 10 best practices for public space projects for use by municipal leaders, and case studies of successful placemaking initiatives from around the world. These 10 facets of the placemaking approach illustrate the process that Project for Public Spaces and UN-Habitat undertook together over our multi-year collaboration, and demonstrate the effectiveness of such global partnerships in sustainable urban development.