Apply for a Community Placemaking Grant

We're excited to announce a new round of Community Placemaking Grants thanks to generous support from General Motors (GM)!

This fall, we're looking to award five U.S.-based 501c(3) nonprofits or local government agencies with up to $100,000 each in direct funding for physical improvements and programming as well as technical assistance and capacity building opportunities from Project for Public Spaces.

Our goal is to help address inequities in access to high-quality public spaces, especially for communities of color and low-income communities, through placemaking. Grantees will work with Project for Public Spaces to lead a collaborative visioning process that results in a public space that better serves the communities through programming, design, and stewardship.

Applications are open until Monday, November 13, 2023 at 11:59pm ET—apply now and help us spread the word!

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Public Space News

Revitalizing Washington, D.C.'s Downtown. In Washington, D.C., federal employees compose one-third of downtown workers, and many of them are still working remotely at least part of the time. This poses a challenge to the city's mayor, Muriel Bowser, who considers supporting the city's downtown a major focus. Another issue unique to the city is that even if these buildings are completely empty, some have been designed for high-security purposes making it difficult to repurpose into housing or other uses. Since the city's downtown is almost 90% commercial, having more of a mix could lead to a more vibrant and resilient place. (CityLab)

The Foundations of a Heat-Resistant City. Due to various factors such as the extensive use of concrete, cities can be as much as 7 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than surrounding rural areas. To uncover solutions to this problem, Grist collaborated with climate experts and urban planners to highlight a few different technologies and strategies for cooling down cities. Possibilities include installing shade structures in playgrounds, using alternative materials for pavement such as resin from trees, and installing solar panels in parking lots. (Grist)

How to Reconnect Neighborhoods. Now that the federal government has committed $1 billion to the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) Program, many communities are reflecting on the best ways of dealing with divisive highways. A recent article recommends learning from past projects to avoid mistakes. For example, projects like boulevardization, which reduces space from cars for more pedestrian-friendly spaces, need to be carefully considered so that they do indeed reunite neighborhoods instead of spurring gentrification and harming the populations these changes are meant to support. (Streetsblog USA)
 

Placemaking Playbook

• Learn about Brattleboro, Vermont, winner of the 2023 Strongest Towns contest (Strong Towns)
• Climate activists in Philly rallied at City Hall to push for solutions including turning empty lots into green spaces (WHYY)
• Learn about the legacy of avant-garde landscape designer Claude Cormier (NY Times)
• NYC announces new $7.5 million federal grant will go toward building 40 miles of greenways (Gothamist)
• An underused parking lot in Calgary is transformed into a community gathering space with skateboard ramps, a dog run, and more (Livewire Calgary)

From the Blog