Weekly Placemaking Round-Up | Jan 23 - Jan 29, 2017 - Project for Public Spaces

Posted January 30, 2017 - 08:24

Here is the latest issue this new weekly roundup of news, ideas, opportunities, and more - a curated list of content for placemakers by placemakers - from the Project for Public Spaces.

This Week's Highlights: Jan 23 - Jan 29, 2017

The transformation of an underused park in Fargo, ND, is just one of the many remarkable creative placemaking projects made possible by an NEA "Our Town" grant. But despite the fact that both red and blue states have benefited from the program, there is much concern about the future of arts-based public investments under the Trump administration.
A new wave of interactive digital tools is making it easier for communities to have a say in the planning process. In Santa Monica, a Tinder-like app called CitySwipe asks users simple yes/no questions and lets them swipe through images of potential scenarios to record their preferences—such as where to place benches, bike lanes, or street art.
According to Smart Growth America, Fort Myers, FL, is the country's most dangerous metro area for walking. To address this issue, a group of local advocates, BikeWalkLee, has helped to secure $10 million in federal funding to redesign streets for greater safety.
Speaking of transforming cities into places for people and not just cars, a new zoning code in Buffalo lets you build a building without including any space for parking. This is just one of many changes aimed at making the city more walkable, mixed-use, and transit-friendly.
While the City of Montreal will spend more than $6 billion to improve roads and other public resources over the next three years, the smaller-scale Green Alleyways Project—which has so far transformed over 250 abandoned spaces into gardens, play areas, or public meeting spaces—is also worthy of celebration!

More Placemaking Stories & Ideas

Urban Biking Advice from Copenhagen, Portland, and Beyond (World Resources Institute)
Main Street Gets a Boost from Washington (Strong Towns)
Who Decides What "Good Urbanism" Means in Atlanta? You Do. (threadATL)
Chinatown Residents Keep Pushing for their Neighborhood Plan (NextCity)
Jean Gang on Buildings that Create Community (TED Talk)

Events and Opportunities

Job: Work with PPS! We're hiring a Lead Writer (deadline Jan 31) and a Communications Assistant (deadline Jan 27)
RFI: Host and co-sponsor the 2018 10th International Public Markets Conference(deadline Feb 17)
Award: 2017 J.M.K. Innovation Prize (deadline Apr 28)
Conference: Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) Annual Conference (May 24-27)
Training: "Placemaking: Making it Happen," at PPS's office in NYC (May 2017)
Training: "How to Create Successful Markets," at PPS's office in NYC (June 2017)

Instagram of the Week

Brooklyn, New York
While walking around his Brooklyn neighborhood this past weekend, PPS founder Fred Kent discovered this poignant sign resting upon a tossed out bed. It now belongs to us, and will go up in the office as a little piece of history. Be sure to check out Fred Kent's Instagram shots at pps_placemaking.

Have something to share? Please send your placemaking stories, news, job openings, grants, awards, calls for proposals, and events to [email protected] today. We'll be sure to give you a tip of the hat.

Printer-friendly version
Login to post comments

PASCAL

Subscribe to PASCAL...

Latest News

Latest Blogs

Latest Comments

Upcoming Events

Follow us on:

Shortlink

Weekly Placemaking Round-Up | Jan 23 - Jan 29, 2017 - Project for Public Spaces