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In many American cities, not only are public spaces inequitably distributed and poorly maintained—but the people in the communities with the least access also rarely have the opportunity to shape public spaces themselves.
That's why we are excited to announce our new Community Placemaking Grants initiative. These grants will enable US-based nonprofits and government agencies to address this inequality of access by working directly with local stakeholders to transform underperforming public spaces or co-create new ones.
This year, in partnership with General Motors, the grants include up to $40,000 in direct funding for physical or programmatic improvements, as well as technical assistance and peer learning opportunities facilitated by Project for Public Spaces, in Buffalo, New York; Kansas City, Kansas; and Nashville, Tennessee. Learn more.
More Events & Opportunities
Now through November 1, 2021 • Call for Proposals: Community Activator Program Grants, My Main Street
Now through November 4, 2021 • Call for Proposals: A National Initiative for Green Space, Health Equity, and Racial Justice, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
November 10, 2021 • Event on Place Driving Equity: Investing in Public Space for Shared Prosperity, Next City
Now through November 15, 2021 • Call for Sessions: Placemaking: The Intersection of People, Plants, & Gardens, American Public Gardens Association
Now through November 21, 2021 • Call for Presentations: the 21st Annual Parks & Greenspace Conference, Park Pride
Now through December 1, 2021 • Call for Projects: Bringing a Sacred Place to Your Community, Nature Sacred
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A Big Opportunity on Buffalo's Waterfront. We were thrilled to see the Editorial Board of The Buffalo News supports a new community vision for Buffalo's DL&W Terminal, facilitated by Project for Public Spaces. (The Buffalo News)
Now largely closed off from public view and access, we believe the DL&W Terminal can become an inclusive place where the arts, food, and music bring people together in a unique multi-use gathering place for the region. Our report, summarized in The Buffalo News, represents the first step in making a catalytic investment into the Terminal that will help spur new development around the station, build transit ridership, and create a new destination of national significance–another jewel in the crown of Buffalo’s rebirth. (The Buffalo News)
Placemaking Excellence in Japan. This week, our friends at Sotonoba Place in Japan won a top design award for their Placemaking Week and "place game" evaluation of public spaces, with training support from PPS! If your browser offers a translate-to-English feature, have a read. (Sonotoba)
New York City Streets. Transportation Alternatives has released a report saying only half of NYC's open streets are actually functional. The volunteer surveyors also found that Open Streets are inequitably distributed and located in wealthier areas. For example, they found the six community board districts with the least access to parks also had no active Open Streets. (Gothamist)
Another report, this time from the Regional Planning Association, makes an argument for having a more encompassing "public space management" agency to replace NYC's existing Department of Transportation. Currently, there are 18 city agencies that intersect with public space, making it difficult to enact one comprehensive plan for the city that would make it climate resilient while providing a higher quality of life for its residents. (Streetsblog NYC)
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As always, here's a roundup of placemaking projects and ideas that inspired us this week:
- An ode to the park bench, an endangered species (New York Times)
- Albany dreams up ways of reconnecting the city with its waterfront (Bloomberg)
- Trauma-informed design fosters a feeling of safety and belonging in a supportive housing complex (Next City)
- Playful Learning Landscapes (PLL) emerges as a way of providing kids with everyday learning and development opportunities (Brookings)
- Los Angeles experiments with applying cooling paint to its sidewalks (Next City)
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