The Placemaking Round-Up
A biweekly newsletter with public space news, resources, and opportunities.
The Biweekly Bazaar
A curated dispatch on all things public markets plus the latest announcements from the Market Cities Program.
A biweekly newsletter with public space news, resources, and opportunities.
A curated dispatch on all things public markets plus the latest announcements from the Market Cities Program.
There is growing momentum to get “back to the basics” of what makes cities thrive. Many of the most effective and immediate solutions are lighter, quicker, and cheaper than traditional top-down approaches to improving cities.
The quality of a public space has always been best defined by the people who use it. The growing success of “Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper” (LQC) projects all over the world is proof that expensive and labor-intensive initiatives are not the only, or even the most effective, ways to bring energy and life into a community’s public space.
United under the core principles of community vision, cost-effectiveness, collaboration, and citizen-led change, this exciting movement goes by many names—action-planning, guerilla urbanism, pop-up projects, city repair, D.I.Y. Urbanism, and Tactical Urbanism. We see each of these efforts as important tools and catalysts for larger community-based Placemaking processes.
“Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper” is a phrase we borrowed from Eric Reynolds to describe the simple, short-term, and low-cost solutions that are having remarkable impacts on the shaping of neighborhoods and cities. PPS began to chronicle many of these solutions in the 2007 book: The Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Placemaking. Since we began our work in 1975, we have used Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper interventions to address all kinds of public space challenges, and the impacts of these projects have been lasting and profound. We launched our focused advocacy around Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper in early 2011 with an event featuring Marcus Westbury.
The proliferation of LQC efforts all over the world signals the emergence of a powerful, networked, and creative movement, and it shows that more and more people are beginning to see how communities can be created and transformed by making a series of affordable, human-scale, and near-term changes. Although many of the challenges facing today’s cities go well beyond the scope of these individual interventions, taken together they demonstrate that incremental and place-led change is possible, even in the midst of ongoing social, economic, and political obstacles.
One of the greatest advantages of LQC is the ability to create and test a project immediately and with direct community involvement. Initial LQC projects are often temporary—relatively inexpensive alterations to a public space that take place while more long-range projects grind through the lengthy development pipeline. Bringing multiple and wide-ranging benefits to communities, the early implementation of LQC projects can help:
Although a Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper approach is not for every situation (it may not be the right solution, for example, for large infrastructural projects like building a bridge—though that would surely be interesting!), it can be a creative, locally-powered alternative to the kind of capital-heavy and top-down planning processes that so often yield end results that are completely detached from the needs and desires of the communities they are meant to serve.
More questions and information? Refer to our LQC FAQ and LQC Videos & Publications page. More case studies? Refer to our great LQC intervention site?
Generating support for public space improvements is not always easy; but having a one-time event can be a great way to generate support and awareness for a project. Ranging from street closures and block parties to guerilla or DIY activations, these temporary events can help kick-start a campaign by showcasing the potential of a particular public space. There are many ways to make this happen. Most cities have clauses in their planning and design manuals for street fairs and community events, for example. While the permitting and execution processes can be lengthy, this interim time can be used for event planning, fundraising, or developing partnerships with adjacent private property owners.
Other relevant projects:
Ciclovia in Bogota, Colombia; Williamsburg Walks, Brooklyn, New York; Better Blocks Philly, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Better Blocks Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii
In cities of all sizes, public art has long been a source of pride, and it can play a major role in residents’ sense of place. As an important catalyst for Placemaking, the success of public art initiatives relies heavily on both the level of community engagement, and the design of the public space in which they are located. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, publicly engaged art can help build community morale, and it can become central to the cultural identity of a place. In creative communities that are rich with local talent, LQC public art projects are a great tool for animating public spaces and promoting citizen engagement.
Other relevant projects:
ArtFront, Auckland, New Zealand; Camden Night Garden, Camden, New Jersey; Shipping Container Parklet, Montreal, Quebec; Awakening, Charleston, South Carolina
The community is always the expert! Regardless of timeframe or scale, the success of any Placemaking project depends on community involvement at every stage of implementation—from idea development and implementation to post-project follow-up. This kind of sustained participation also makes it easier to build partnerships, raise money, avoid criticism and backlash, build audiences, and ensure the site’s continued maintenance and management.
Other relevant projects:
Placemaking Palmerston North, Palmerston, New Zealand; Intersection Repair, Portland, Oregon; The Garden Library, Tel Aviv, Israel; Better Block Clovelly Road, Sydney, Australia; Benches Collective (BankjesCollectief), Amsterdam, Holland
A public space cannot flourish with a single-focused design or management strategy. An LQC approach can help ensure that places thrive year-round by creating season-specific programs and events. Many people live in places that are deprived of outdoor social activities during parts of the year, and planners, policymakers, and citizens should incorporate these challenges into their site designs and programming.
Other relevant projects: Summer on Queen’s Wharf, Auckland, New Zealand; The Lawn on D, Boston, Massachusetts; Resurfaced, Louisville, KY; Umbrella Project, Agueda, Portugal; Paris Plages, Paris, France
Traditional top-down planning processes are not only time consuming, but they also have highly unpredictable outcomes. LQC projects, on the other hand, allow communities to experiment with short-term pilot projects before investing in larger, more permanent public space alterations. These interim projects generate creative participation in the community, and they can also invite new sources of funding for the future of the project. Using LQC as a first step towards long-term change is a great strategy for communities that recognize the need for improvements but lack immediate resources, and/or for those who wish to take direct, incremental steps towards executing a long-term community vision.
Other relevant projects: 78th Street Play Street, Queens, New York; Boxpark, London, England; Haenggung-Dong EcoMobility Festival, Seoul, South Korea; Autoridad del Espacio Publico, Mexico City, Mexico ; Picnurbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
LQC projects vary greatly in terms of goals, duration, and budget. Simple actions like adding planters or benches to a sidewalk, painting a roundabout at an intersection, or installing a community suggestion board on a blank wall, are all examples of LQC place-interventions. Some of these projects are “lighter” than others in terms of their flexibility and cost. Communities facing severe funding limitations or permit issues must consider short-term, or “ultra-light” transformations, using inexpensive or donated materials to activate their public spaces.
Other relevant projects: Think Micro, Izmir, Turkey; Hampden DIY Crosswalks, Baltimore, MD; Poster Pocket Plants, Toronto, Ontario; Crosswalks for Life (Cebras por la Vida), Bogota, Colombia; Denver Pop-up Bike Lane, Denver, Colorado
Sometimes the need to improve or transform a public space is especially urgent. While more permanent changes can remain a long-term goal, with LQC you can begin making changes now. There are many ways to temporarily transform an underperforming public space, and in finding the most appropriate strategy, it is important to look for particular cues or clauses in ordinance manuals (for 24-48 hour closures for a community event, for example, or for transforming residual space or underused parking). Communities and organizations wishing to make public space interventions will be able to strengthen their case, for both approval and funding, by providing supporting documentation, such as master plans or traffic analyses.
Other relevant projects: The Cube, São Paulo, Brazil; The Flying Grass Carpet (International); A’beckett Urban Square, Melbourne, Australia; Colonnade Freeride Park, Seattle Washington; Pop Rocks, Vancouver, British Columbia
One of the main motivations for Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper projects has been the lack of available funding for public space improvements. The participatory and community-based nature of LQC projects can be helpful in exploring new sources of funding from both the public and private sectors. Nonconventional funding sources include crowdsourcing campaigns, community grant programs, institutions and foundations providing technical assistance, private businesses near the site, and so on. Cities like New York, San Francisco, and Philadelphia have excellent models of programs that empower citizens and community groups to transform their public spaces. (See, for example the NYC Plaza Program, Pavement to Parks, and the Pedestrian Plaza program.)
Other relevant projects: Cherry Lane Lighting, York, Pennsylvania; Grays Ferry Triangles, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Cincinnati Street Food Festival, Cincinnati, Ohio
In communities struggling with issues of poverty, crime, or urban decay, public space projects can be especially challenging—in part because these improvements are often lower on the list of pressing issues. The impacts of placemaking in these areas can be wide-ranging and transformative, however, since the need for quality public spaces in which to gather and play in these communities is often especially urgent. LQC strategies are not only cost-effective and flexible, but they can also empower community members to take an active role in the creation and maintenance of their own spaces.
Other relevant projects: The Alley Project, Detroit, Michigan; Mmofra Place, Accra, Ghana; Camden Building Heroes Skate Park, Camden, New Jersey; The RAINS Project, Sana’a Yemen
In many communities, lack of resources and materials can seem like the toughest obstacle to successful Placemaking projects. However, LQC outlines ways to transform public spaces without an abundance of funding or materials. Without relying on big-budget improvements, these projects use inexpensive or reclaimed materials, and a central focus is on providing quality programming within each space.
Other relevant projects: RUS Playground, Lima, Peru; Proxy, San Francisco, California; Autoparque, Lima, Peru; Greening the Rubble, Christchurch, New Zealand
For LQC efforts to succeed, stakeholder collaboration is as just as important as the project’s physical elements. Effective partnerships help to ensure that public spaces can thrive in the long term, and have lasting impacts on the community. When the management structure of a placemaking project emerges organically (between community organizations, BIDs, city agencies, and local volunteers, for example), there tends to be a deeper investment in the project’s growth and preservation.
Other relevant projects: The Uni Project, New York City, New York; V&E Greenline, Memphis, Tennessee; The Beach at Campus Martius, Detroit, Michigan; Cincinnati Street Food Festival, Cincinnati, Ohio
Many Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper initiatives function as primers for larger projects, and the temporary improvements can help generate popular and political support for more long-term placemaking projects. Early projects can also help show investors that their contributions will add value to the place and will not become a liability for the local community. The greatest benefit of Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper projects, however, comes from the connections they help foster between people and their environment.
Other relevant projects: The Minhocao Freeway, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Días de Playa, Medellín, Colombia; Haenggung-Dong EcoMobility Festival, Seoul, South Korea; Market Street Prototyping, San Francisco, California; The Beach at Campus Martius, Detroit, Michigan
Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper interventions are less about the end product, and more about cultivating a participatory placemaking process. Building a community’s capacity for innovation requires cross-sector collaboration and a hands-on approach to learning and experimentation.
Other relevant projects: Pop-up Rockwell, Cleveland, Ohio; Pop-up Mango, Chicago, Illinois; Market Street Prototyping, San Francisco, California; Better Blocks Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii
It takes more than a handful of LQC interventions to generate lasting change in a place. The process requires a careful synergy between multiple components. Successful projects must find the delicate balance between physical components like spatial organization and arrangement; process and implementation; collaboration between partners and stakeholders, and establishing quality programs within the space.
Other relevant projects: NoHo Plaza, Los Angeles, California; Tashmoo Biergarten, Detroit Michigan; Museum of Image and Sound installation, São Paulo, Brazil; Livable Laneways Project, Vancouver, British Columbia ; MEMShop/ALTShop, Memphis, Tennessee
Much of the world is facing a major epidemic of obesity and chronic disease, and these issues are fueled in part by a lack of safe public spaces for physical activity as well as uneven access to healthy food. Along with their contribution to the economic vitality of communities, inclusive public spaces where all people feel safe to play and relax are important for both the physical and social health of its residents—particularly for those living in crowded urban areas or informal settlements. As numerous studies have shown, crime rates and gang activity decrease when more people participate in public activity and know their neighbors. When people feel a sense of ownership and community within their cities, they are more likely to take better care of both the environment and themselves.
Other relevant projects: Raahgiri Day DIY Crosswalk, New Delhi, India; LA Green Grounds Gardens, Los Angeles, California; Dekalb Market, Brooklyn, New York; Shade Stands, Kampala, Uganda
More questions and information? Refer to our LQC FAQ and LQC Videos & Publications page. More case studies? Refer to our great LQC intervention site?
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