How Cities can Support Public Space Management in More Communities | Placemaking Weekly

Posted April 25, 2021 - 10:05

This newsletter from the Project for Public Spaces connects people who share a passion for public spaces to ideas and issues, news, quotes, places, and events from the placemaking movement.

How Government can Support Public Space Management Citywide

“The pandemic has sparked conversations about how else public space can and should be used,” writes Jackson Chabot, a Transportation Policy ASsociate at Open Plans, “But, in spite of all this, something is still missing because most cities do not have a comprehensive, citywide strategy for public space management.”

In this guest post, Chabot shares his research into three models from London, Minneapolis, and San Francisco for how New York City could empower neighborhoods to transform their own streets. Read more.

More from the Blog

The Joy of Being In: Dr. Mindy Fullilove on Trauma, Healing, and Main Street
April 2, 2021 • by Nate Storring

Creating Online & In-Person Events with a Sense of Place: A Conversation with Juliet Kahne
March 12, 2021 • by Nate Storring

How to Nurture Flourishing Cultural and Creative Hubs: Lessons from the Netherlands
March 4, 2021 • by Rinske Brand

Events & Opportunities

Monument Circle in Indianapolis, Indiana.

To keep COVID-safe at our Walk/Bike/Places conference this June 15-18, we currently have a cap of 100 in-person registrations—and over two-thirds have already sold! So if you’re hoping to join us in beautiful Indianapolis this year, register now to secure your spot. Learn more and register.

More Events & Opportunities

Apr. 30, 2021 • Grant: Asphalt Art Initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies

May 19-21, 2021 • Conference: CNU 29. Design for Change, Congress for the New Urbanism

Public Space News

What's Next After Chauvin? The conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd was met with a sense of relief in many communities around the country. However, activists maintain that the racist systems that lead to such deadly encounters in public space have yet to be addressed. The St. Louis Ethical Society of Police described the the verdict as "a pebble in the ocean." (The Guardian)

Outdoor Dining Victim of its Own Success? Many municipalities responded to the pandemic by loosening regulations and opening up their streets to restaurants and markets. While this has been a lifeline for many small businesses, at least one California town has been presented with a new challenge—the markets are too crowded. Officials are attempting to balance the need for community and business support with the public safety imperatives of the COVID-19 era. (Planetizen)

Austin Builds the Arts. The Lonestar capital shared its 2020 report for Art in Public Places. The program, now in its 25th year, was one of the first of its kind to be passed into law. It requires that at least 2% of the budget of capital construction projects be reserved to commission or purchase art for the site. (AustinTexas.gov)

Santa Rosa Charts New Course on Homelessness. Like many cities in California, Santa Rosa has a large unhoused population. Early in the pandemic, city leaders decided to try a new approach to support these underserved residents by erecting an encampment in a popular park in a thriving neighborhood.

Local homeowners who initially had some misgivings have since had a change of heart. With access to medical care, donations of food, and a safe place to stay, many of the encampment residents are making progress toward more sustainable employment and housing, and the city is looking to expand the program to other neighborhoods. (NextCity)

Peds Come First. Former NYC traffic commissioner Sam Schwartz called for an end to jaywalking laws. Writing in the New York Daily News, Schwartz contends that stricter enforcement makes streets more dangerous—not less—and that these laws often disproportionately affect BIPOC residents. (Planetizen)

Placemaking Playbook

As always, here is a roundup of 10 inspiring placemaking ideas from the week:

This Earth Day update about cities leading the fight against climate change (Bloomberg)
A lesson in tactical urbanism at the citywide scale (CNU)
This food market creating community in the heart of Munich (SocialLifeProject)
A call for cities to resist the urge to give their streets back to cars after the pandemic (The Atlantic)
This introduction to placemaking for Portuguese speakers (ArchDaily Brazil)
A host of reasons to keep streets flexible even when everything reopens (BerkleySide)
This community center being redesigned by indigenous youth (NextCity)
An open-source placemaking toolkit full of ideas developed for European cities (Placemaking Europe)
A look at community pantries as placemaking in the Phililpines (CNN)
These landscape architects designing more inclusive public spaces (USC)

We're Hiring!

Project for Public Spaces is seeking a Marketing & Communications Manager to help tell our story to prospective clients and partners and manage our digital content, such as our blog, newsletters, and social media.

This full-time position is remote, with a preference for folks close to New York City, and offers $60-$65,000 in salary plus benefits. Learn more and apply.