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Making the Journey a Destination: Indianapolis’ Cultural Trail
“What makes the Cultural Trail unique is that it’s an urban exploration trail, as opposed to an urban escape trail.” / Photo: Indianapolis Cultural TrailBack in 2007, we highlighted the Indianapolis Cultural Trail project in Bold Moves, Brave...
Expanding the Rightsizing Streets Guide
Milwaukee’s Park East Freeway during demolition / Photo: Milwaukee Department of DevelopmentToday we are unveiling several new resources within the Rightsizing Streets Guide. We’re excited to share with you an interactive map featuring more than...
Community Wisdom + Expert Knowledge = Good Community Design
Residents in Exeter, RI used a “Places of the Heart” map to identify parts of town that they value most as well as areas of concern. / Photo: Orton Family FoundationHave you ever been at a meeting about a community issue and heard the statement, “We...
The Right to Contribute: A Report from the Placemaking Leadership Council
Hundreds gathered in Detroit for the first meeting of the Placemaking Leadership Council / Photo: Ara Howrani for PPSIn 1970, I had the opportunity to coordinate New York City’s first Earth Day demonstration. It was an experience that changed my...
Be a Citizen Placemaker: Think Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper
With some temporary materials, a roadway can become a bocce ball court, and a street can become a great place / Photo: PPSImagine that you live in a truly vibrant place: the bustling neighborhood of every Placemaker’s dreams. Picture the streets,...
Detroit Leads the Way on Place-Centered Revitalization
Future plans for Cadillac Square call for a lively marketplace / Image: PPSYou may have heard about downtown Detroit’s big comeback story. Campus Martius has become one of America’s great urban squares. Demand for housing has outstripped supply for...
What is Good Rural Design?
Well-designed communities are places where people want to live and invest in the future. / Photo: CIRDThis question and many others were the focus of the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design’s (CIRD) capacity building call series that kicked off this...
Governance Through a Focus on Place: Stronger Citizens, Stronger Cities
“If vibrancy is people, then the only way to make a city vibrant again is to make room for more of them.” / Photo: PPSA great place is something that everybody can create. If vibrancy is people, as we argued two weeks ago, the only way to make a...
To Make a Great Third Place, Get Out of the Way
Great third places are stages for public life, and should reflect the people who live, work, and play nearby / Photo: PPSYou are never finished. That is one of PPS’s 11 principles for creating great community places. For anyone working to...
Informed and Engaged Communities Through Placemaking
The Placemaking Leadership Council will meet for the first time next month in Detroit, Michigan / Photo: PPSFifteen years ago, PPS created a new tool, the Place Diagram, that broke down the essential components of successful public spaces into...
Want to Create Family-Friendly Places? Get the Kids at the Table!
Children play on the Museum of Art and History’s rooftop sculpture garden during a Placemaking workshop / Photo: Greg LarsonIn 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake changed the face of downtown Santa Cruz, damaging dozens of buildings and hobbling the...
Placemaking: Shared Focus on Place Builds Vibrant Destinations
Placemaking is a process, accessible to anyone, that allows peoples’ creativity to emerge. When it is open and inclusive, this process can be extraordinarily effective in making people feel attached to the places where they live. That, in turn,...
