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Walk/Bike/Places Is Here! | Placemaking Weekly

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.

Last Call to Register: Walk/Bike/Places Starts This Tuesday, June 15th!

We are so excited to be coming to Indianapolis for our Walk/Bike/Places conference next week. But one of the best things about our hybrid format this year is that it's also not too late to register to attend virtually!
 
Register Now
Virtual attendees get access to all of our general sessions, breakout sessions, online networking events, and the conference app—plus access to all of this content for six months after the event.

Check out the full program on the conference website, or go ahead and register now. We hope to see you next week!
 

More Events & Opportunities


June 25, 2021Grant: Canada Healthy Communities Initiative, Community Foundations of Canada
 

Have an event or opportunity you would like to share? Email us at [email protected].
Register Now: Walk/Bike/Places, June 15-18, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana and online.

From the Blog

Social Alchemy: Jim Walker on Placemaking as Utopian Experiment
May 12, 2021 • by Jim Walker

Six Trends in Placemaking & Active Transportation from Walk/Bike/Places
May 6, 2021 • by Nate Storring

Place Governance Roundup: Three Ways NYC Could Better Care for Its Streets
April 17, 2021 • by Jackson Chabot

 

Public Space News

Queering Public Space. As cities around the world celebrate Pride Month, there is a growing push to design public spaces that are more inclusive of LGBTQ people. From lighting that makes marginalized people feel less safe to design paradigms built around heterosexual families, advocates and designers are looking at the many ways spaces could be more welcoming to all. (The Conversation)

Resident-led Placemaking Transforming Rochester. After years of advocacy and community engagement, the mid-sized city of Rochester, NY adopted a 15-year strategic plan that centers play and kid-friendly design. The plan, first adopted in 2019 and now being implemented, includes citizen-sourced ideas such as transforming vacant lots into play spaces, making sure every resident is within a safe 10-minute walk of a park, and building capacity for future engagement. (Brookings)

Conflict Over City Parks in NYC. Last weekend, the NYPD closed and cleared multiple city parks at 10 p.m. The parks had become popular gathering places for young people who could not access nightlife during the pandemic. The NYPD cited resident complaints, excessive noise, and the need to prevent crime as their rationale for the move, but critics contend it had more to do with race and class. (Gothamist

New Health Equity Framework. The National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) released a framework to support communities in improving health equity through the use of public spaces. It aims to guide citizens and agencies through self-evaluation and development of actionable plans to improve access, particularly for BIPOC citizens. (NRPA)

New Oregon Bill Protects Encampments. The Oregon legislature has passed a new bill regulating policing of homeless encampments. The bill, which now awaits governor Kate Brown's signature, offers citizens charged with loitering or violating a camping ban more legal protection. It also requires the government to prove that such regulations are reasonable. (KVAL)
 

Placemaking Playbook

As always, here is a roundup of 10 inspiring placemaking ideas from the week
  1. The miracle of the commons (Aeon)
  2. A call to manage streets as places, rather than a transportation network (StreetsBlog)
  3. This storefront in Newcastle, UK, that gives citizens the opportunity to weigh in on local planning and development (Planetizen)
  4. An idea to convert vacant big-box stores into vibrant multi-vendor markets (StrongTowns)
  5. Montreal's big new park that brings together grassroots activism and grand vision (Park People)
  6. A fascinating podcast about adapting design to human cognition, rather than the other way around (StrongTowns)
  7. An economic recovery that doesn't rely on gentrification (Planetizen)
  8. A call to put placemaking at the center of Puerto Rico's ongoing hurricane recovery (Weekly Journal)
  9. A recent poll showing Boston residents want streets to have fewer cars and more public space (StreetsBlog)
  10. This podcast about building community and resilience through composting (StrongTowns)

Copyright © 2021 Project for Public Spaces, All rights reserved.

 

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