Tag: placemaking

“Reconciliation is making peace with reality, our ideals, and the gap in between,” via Her Honour, Janice C. Filmon, Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. Much of our work here at PlaceMakers is about redirecting the trajectory of where we are headed with the targets needed to ensure the wellness of our environment, equity,... Continue Reading

When I first developed my interest in placemaking twenty years ago it was driven by design. I was a brand advertising person which, by necessity, involves the study of behavior. Not just of people but of their context. Where and how people choose to live, I learned, provided a lot of insight into the kinds of things... Continue Reading

We often blog on the benefits of nature integrated into urbanism and wellbeing outcomes of walkability. The real trifecta is when walkable urbanism, human-scale architecture, and nature come together via placemaking. A recent study from the University of Warwick points out that a scenic view delivers equal health benefits... Continue Reading

A recent post over on Comstock's reignited consideration of the word "placemaking," sparking some of our own thoughts on the matter. Given that we as a firm have officially been "placemakers" (on legal documents and everything!) since 2003, we unsurprisingly have our own thoughts on what this rather ill-defined word... Continue Reading

Extraordinary strides have been made in the advancement of placemaking over the past twenty-five years. Think about it. In the years prior, the term “placemaking” wasn’t even in common use by developers, designers and planners. Nor were terms such as form-based code, new urbanism, smart growth, transect, charrette,... Continue Reading

For the last several decades, North American cities have used growth as a primary economic engine. Increasingly less dense new growth is subsidized by the more dense core, but requires a growth rate that is not supportable by the market cycle in most places today. As growth rates stalled, decreased, or went negative, city... Continue Reading

Thanks to all of you who made last week's Why Placemaking Matters: What's in it for me? conversation so interesting. Robert Steuteville, editor of Better! Cities & Towns, jumped in with his own elevator pitch that beautifully connects much of the wonk-speak that I listed last week. Kaid Benfield from Washington D.C. Continue Reading

The flurry of social media discussions sparked by my recent series on lessons from great cities has made it apparent that a few things aren’t clear. When I write about a particular square in some inspiring place, I’m hoping you won't take away from it that we should stamp 5-story buildings on 50-yard wide squares... Continue Reading

Slow and steady progress is built on an ongoing series of course corrections. Subtle variations in direction based on new variables, new challenges, and new innovations. As times and circumstances change, some things inevitably become less productive. Or effective. Or conducive to contemporary sensibilities. So, we... Continue Reading

You know what the payment is for crowdsourcing? By asking other people to step up and think through solutions to some collective problem, I must commit to making a difference myself. Every time I’ve asked you to share information with me, you have. Then I feel the need to compile it, analyze it, and organize it... Continue Reading