Weekly Placemaking Round-Up | Jan 23 - Jan 29, 2017

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 [1].

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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 [3]projects made possible by an NEA "Our Town" grant [4]. 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 [5].
A new wave of interactive digital tools [6]is making it easier for communities [7] to have a say in the planning process. In Santa Monica, a Tinder-like app called CitySwipe [8] 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 [9], Fort Myers, FL, is the country's most dangerous metro area for walking. To address this issue, a group of local advocates, BikeWalkLee [10], has helped to secure $10 million in federal funding to redesign streets for greater safety [11].
Speaking of transforming cities into places for people and not just cars [12], 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. [13]
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 [13]Green Alleyways Project [14]—which has so far transformed over 250 abandoned spaces into gardens, play areas, or public meeting spaces [15]—is also worthy of celebration!

More Placemaking Stories & Ideas

Urban Biking Advice from Copenhagen, Portland, and Beyond [16] (World Resources Institute)
Main Street Gets a Boost from Washington [17] (Strong Towns)
Who Decides What "Good Urbanism" Means in Atlanta? You Do [18]. (threadATL)
Chinatown Residents Keep Pushing for their Neighborhood Plan [19] (NextCity)
Jean Gang on Buildings that Create Community [20] (TED Talk)

Events and Opportunities

Job: Work with PPS! We're hiring a Lead Writer [21](deadline Jan 31) and a Communications Assistant [21](deadline Jan 27)
RFI: Host and co-sponsor the 2018 10th International Public Markets Conference [22](deadline Feb 17)
Award: 2017 J.M.K. Innovation Prize [23](deadline Apr 28)
Conference: Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) Annual Conference [24] (May 24-27)
Training: "Placemaking: Making it Happen [25]," at PPS's office in NYC (May 2017)
Training: "How to Create Successful Markets, [26]" at PPS's office in NYC (June 2017)

Instagram of the Week

Brooklyn, New York
[27]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] [28] today. We'll be sure to give you a tip of the hat.

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