Cynthia Nikitin recently gave a keynote address on Placemaking at the 4th Public Design Exhibition & Seminar held in Seoul, Korea on 11th-12th November 2008. The 4th Public Design Exhibition & Seminar, a non-profit entity, is aimed to raise the importance of ‘Regional design and built environment’ to create better public places and citiesa. This year The Hope Institute, an alternative, people-based, culturally-oriented think-tank, hosted this annual forum firmly supported by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion.

PPS Vice President Cynthia Nikitin recently gave a presentation in Lisbon, Portugal entitled “What if we Built Cities around PLACES,” hosted by the Lisbon Energy- Environmental Municipal Agency (ENOVA) as part of their monthly in-house “PONTO DE ENCONTRO” public dialogue platform.

Listen to Nikitin's lecture via podcast here!

In 1980, PPS worked with the town of Madison, New Jersey on a strategy to improve their Farmer's Market.  As part of the plan, PPS recommended the borough move its market downtown, claiming that it would thrive at the new location if properly managed.

On September 25, 2008, the market moved from its regular home on the former Bayley-Ellard High School campus to a trial run downtown on Waverly Place.  Many local business owners were enthusiastic about the plan, while others voiced concerns that patrons would purchase market produce and immediately head home.

Studies show that 60% of farmers market visitors also patronize local stores on the same day.

More Information:

• Madison's farmers market makes 'guest' appearance on Waverly Place [NJ.com]
  

Brooklyn's Myrtle Avenue, once notoriously crime-ridden, has made amazing strides in the last several years.  Today, thanks to the hard work of the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project, the street is now a bustling thoroughfare home to restaurants and shops, many of them owned by local entrepreneurs.

In 2006, PPS worked with MARP, Pratt Institute's urban design program, and residents of the neighborhoods of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy to analyze three specific areas where Myrtle Ave could be better connected to the surrounding neighborhood.

Community Board 2 recently voted unanimously to accept the proposed plan for the second site, which entails redesigning a busy side service road to make it more pedestrian friendly.

Existing conditions on Myrtle Ave service road.

Temporary improvements with a street festival

Photos courtesy of MARP

More Information:

• Myrtle Avenue Public Space Project [MARP]
• Streetscape Improvements Move Forward [Myrtle Minutes]

 

Today, PPS's Gary Toth appears on Streetsblog to talk about engaging the DOT, as well as to discuss A Citizen's Guide to Better Streets, one of three new PPS books to be published in conjunction with AARP.

The PPS-AARP partnership aligns with both PPS's Building Community Through Transportation campaign, as well as AARP's Livable Communities initiative, which seeks to provide adequate mobility options for aging Americans to help them maintain personal independence and engagement in civic and social life.

 

PPS is working with the grantees and partners of Inspiring Places Initiative of the Central Indiana Community Foundation to build capacity for Placemaking in the Indianapolis region. One focus of this effort has been on Monument Circle, one of the city's most iconic public spaces. The Circle, which hosts numerous events throughout the year, has the potential to become an even better destination for downtown activity.

PPS provided a report outlining a process for improvements, which included a management plan, additional amenities and flexible activities.

"From a European perspective, this could be one of the great public spaces in America, it seems to me," said Simon Crookall, president of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, which performs at Hilbert Circle Theatre. "It has enormous potential."

More information:

• Reshaping the Circle [Indianapolis Business Journal]
  

 

Photo Credit: Richard Benjamin

Several months after a PPS Placemaking Workshop, Providenceï¾’s Kennedy Plaza is bustling. There are live Rhythm and Soul concerts every Sunday, a Farmerï¾’s Market Fridays and a Market Bazaar with food, antique, art and other vendors on Thursdays. Throughout the summer there have been a variety of programmed events including a Street Paining Festival, a Roller Derby, and a Bolivian Festival.

            These are the creations of the Greater Kennedy Plaza Working Group inspired by discussion at PPSï¾’ workshop in February. PPS saw Kennedy Plaza as the heart of Providence and invited community members to brainstorm ways to make it more inviting; to truly draw people into the square and make it a vibrant and active downtown center.

            At the launch of the Kennedy Plaza summer programs this June, Mayor David N. Cicilline was full of praise for the Working Group and for the progress that has been made in the square: ﾓThanks to the hard work and vision of our community partners, this wonderful space is being transformed into a vibrant gathering place that offers something for everyone.ï¾” Previously, Kennedy Plaza was used almost exclusively as a bus transfer station but with the help of PPS and the Working Group and the myriad new programs and activities, Kennedy Square has become a veritable destination and a lively public space.

 Kennedy Plaza
 

 Photo Source: Anchorage Parks Foundation

The Master Plan that PPS proposed for Cuddy Family Midtown Park in Anchorage, Alaska in 2004 has been implemented. The Grand Opening ceremony for the park was held on August 23rd, 2008, and included activities such as live music and theater performances, roller ski races, a kayak paddle for kids, and a ribbon cutting ceremony with Senator Ted Stevens, Mayor Mark Begich and the Cuddy Family. The park features the only long track speed skating oval in Alaska, a new pond, a walking track, and an outdoor amphitheater.

            The park was established in the 1980s and in 2004 PPS held a Place Performance Evaluation Workshop, subsequently developing a new Master Plan for making the park a physical and symbolic heart in a part of the Anchorage community. PPS recommended improving access to the park to strengthen the connection between the park and the neighborhood, developing internal paths, creating a series of "places" to ensure a variety of activities, and developing a new management and funding strategy. PPS also provided both short-term and long-term recommendations for specific areas of the park, including entranceways and surrounding buildings. A highlight of the master plan was the proposed skating oval, which is now a major attraction of the park.

            The Anchorage Parks Foundation and the Anchorage Parks and Recreation department are responsible for the park, and funding came from both public and private sources, including a large donation from the Cuddy Family.

 Anchorage Parks Foundation

PPS has begun work with the Texas-based Appleseed Project, seeking to reform how and where mixed use developments are built.  Aiming to bring amenities to existing communities and reduce reliance on the automobile, businessman Brett Sheldon has plans to build smaller-scale mixed use complexes to areas already populated with housing.  The developments will provide an unconventional mix of uses that is intended to create a place for the community to gather and informally interact with their neighbors.

Appleseed projects, the first of which is slated for McKinney, Texas, will be located at an intersection of two well-traveled arterials. Its focus will be a multi-purpose plaza and a family restaurant with outdoor dining, rather than the sea of parking usually found at malls and shopping complexes.  The plaza will be available to the community for a wide-range of programs that respond to their needs – everything from farmers markets to small performances and community events.  It will also offer permanent attractions such as a play area, fountain or water feature and game tables.  The small complex will be managed by a well-trained team that will work with a local steering committee to create a lively program of home-grown events.  

Retail and business space will be used for local mom-and-pop shops and small businesses, adding to local vitality and providing residents with walkable options for entertainment, dining and employment. The developments will also provide small, incubator-type office space so that local residents can work close to home.

PPS will be working with the community to develop the program for the prototype in McKinney.  Seven more Appleseed projects are slated for the suburbs of Fort Worth and Dallas in the next few years.

Links:

• The Appleseed Project

• McKinney Appleseed project aims to bring development to residents [Dallas Morning News]

   

On Monday, June 16^th, PPS President Fred Kent delivered an inspiring lecture entitled "Creating Successful Parks, Squares, and Waterfronts" at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park.  Sponsored by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, the lecture was part of its "Uncommon Ground" series, which features presentations by visionary planners and practitioners that speak to the future growth of the parks system.  In his speech, Mr. Kent described the core principles of successful public spaces and encouraged the use of Placemaking as a citywide community building agenda.  His remarks were followed by a lively question and answer session that reflected both the shared goals of the Parks Department and PPS, as well as opportunities for further collaboration.   

Just a few weeks ago, the Meatpacking District's Gansevoort Plaza was an urban wasteland.  Cars and cabs pealed through the area without regard to their surroundings, creating dangerous conditions for pedestrians and cyclists.

In 2005, PPS met with local community leaders to develop a vision for the area.  Recently, several simple changes were implemented that have changed the streetscape.

Photo by Lily Bernheimer 

Traffic has been significantly slowed and pedestrians now have a place to sit in this now-bustling neighborhood!

Previous Posts:

Eve on the Street: Gansevoort Plaza Open for Business [Streetsblog]
PPS Projects: Gansevoort Plaza [PPS Transportation Projects] 

 

The General Services Administration (GSA) and Project for Public Spaces are currently partnering on an initiative to improve federal plazas that extend into urban communities in 24 American cities.  The partnership has resulted in a free publication titled Achieving Great Federal Public Spaces: A Property Manager's Guide.

The tools and initiatives developed through this partnership have recently made impacts in cities of Syracuse, NY, and Denver, CO.

 In Denver, the Byron G. Rogers Courthouse plaza had become a sterile and inefficient locale during the Timothy McVeigh trial.  As part of the plaza's revitalization, the city added an "ambassador" to assist in directing visitors, as well as new benches and planted flowers.  The once hectic waiting area to enter the building's security checkpoint has been enclosed under a light-filled atrium that now includes a calming water feature.

 In Syracuse, The GSA involved the surrounding community for input on upgrades to The Plaza at the James M. Hanley Federal Building, a long-time locale for weekly live music, food and entertainment on summer evenings.  The Plaza's upgrades include an oval green space, as well as benches, picnic tables and improved signage.  The new design also incorporates design elements from the nearby, recently upgraded Clinton Square Corridor, creating cohesion between the two spaces.

 Incorporating local communities is key to decision-making.  "The broader outreach, the better," says Project for Public Spaces Vice President Cynthia Nitikin.  "It's all sort of also geared toward having these federal buildings or municipal buildings or civic institutions start coalescing into districts and civic centers. This process is really about civic institutions taking a lead once again in helping revitalize communities."

Related Articles:
Achieving Great Federal Public Spaces: A Property Manager's Guide [PPS Project Experience]
Improve Your Building's Public Spaces[Buildings Magazine]

Thousands of revelers and recreation seekers came out for the opening of downtown Houston's first park, Discovery Green. The new 12-acre park boasts an interactive water feature, amphitheater, children's playground, dog run, spacious green lawns, public art works and restaurants. All the amenities are meant to draw a diversity of users. That was clearly accomplished on opening day. 

PPS facilitated a series of workshops in 2005 to gather and use community input for the design of the park. The result is a urban oasis with dozens of options for things to do in a city with few open spaces.

Guy Hagstette, Director of Discovery Green, emailed PPS saying:

"It was a picture perfect day, and something over 20,000 people showed up. . . there are so many things to do in the park. It was really a lot of fun. . . we have had scores of parents with toddlers playing on the playground and kids throwing frisbees and sunbathing. Barbara Bush even stopped by."

More information about the park can be found on the Discovery Green website.

Previous posts:
Park Could Be A Great Place [Houston Chronicle]
Houston Downtown Park Groundbreaking [KHOU]
Project Concept Plan [from the PPS Project Experience Files]

     Photo Credit (left): Lily Bernheimer

The NYC DOT appears to be moving ahead with changes that will make Gansevoort Plaza, a massive intersection at the heart of the Meatpacking District, into a comfortable pedestrian area.

While everyone is wondering how the space will shape up in the long-run, comment postings on Streetsblog show that there is no shortage of good ideas. Recommendations from readers range from the installation of a central fountain to allocating the space for a green or flea market.

Related Posts:
Community Vision for Gansevoort Plaza [PPS Project Experience]
Meat Market Traffic Patterns [The Villager]

 

A 2-acre parcel of land for sale on the Providence waterfront, now the site of a former night club called Shooters, could be an extension of the adjacent India Point Park. Residents want the site to be rezoned to prevent condo development, while the Rhode Island DOT claims it must be sold at market price to the highest bidder based on Federal Highway Administration requirements.  

Ethan Kent, PPS Vice President, recently participated in a community forum about the site and said it could become a regional draw. It'll be up to community members to push for a plan that reflects the personality of the city.

Better access to the waterfront is one of the 7 principles listed in Providence 2020, a long-term vision for the city's growth. The plan calls for continuous waterfront pedestrian access with linkages to parallel streets.

Related Articles:
Residents Ask to Protect Shooters Site [The Providence Journal]
Proposed Rezoning along Waterfront  [Greater City: Providence]

Work is underway to clear the way for Brooklyn's newest waterfront park, which will add acres of green in an area that could use more parkland. So why are some people opposed to the plan? NY1's Roger Clark has the story from Brooklyn Heights.

The New York Times reports on the rising tensions between the community and developers over the plans for Brooklyn Bridge Park.

"For New Yorkers long accustomed to being shut off from miles of waterfront that were abandoned, underused or cut off by highways, lots of green open space on the water seems like a good idea. To Fred Kent, an urban planner who examines parks and plazas the way a doctor scrutinizes X-rays, it is another missed opportunity for life on the waterfront. Mr. Kent, the founder of the Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit design and planning group, points to cities like Oslo or Stockholm where waterfronts are the backdrop to markets, museums and a range of commerce and culture.

'Putting a bunch of fields on the waterfront in the middle of a pier is not exactly the thing you should be doing on what is essentially your face to the world," he said of the Brooklyn plan, which he has opposed along with several local groups. "If Brooklyn wanted to distinguish itself as a great city, apart from Manhattan, it is the waterfront that could do it.'"

PPS recently facilitated a community visioning workshop for Pier 1, located at the end of Atlantic Avenue. There had never been any public input into the uses for the pier. The current design is for a passive landscaped space. Like many other waterfront projects around NYC and the world, the current vision for Brooklyn Bridge Park, and especially the Pier, is a squandered opportunity in place of what could be a great public asset.

Related Posts: 
Brooklyn Bridge Park Hall of Shame [PPS Archives]
Suburbanization of NYC Waterfronts [Streetsblog]
Waterfront Renaissance Around the World [PPS Newsletter, 2/07]

Streetsblog reports on the changes that have been taking place along Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. PPS worked with the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) to develop a new vision for a 15-block area last year. Some of the improvements suggested include improved parking management, higher quality design materials and more amenities for pedestrians.

The findings of the BID's comprehensive vision will be presented by Phil Myrick to Manhattan Community Board 7's Green Committee and members of the Parks and Transportation Committees on Monday, March 24th at 7pm. The meeting will take place at 250 West 87th Street, 2nd Floor.

Download the BID Vision Report here.

(photo courtesy of R. Clayton McKee)
Kids playing around "Mist Tree," a donated fountain at the new Discovery Green park.

The preview opening of Discovery Green, a 12-acre park across from the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, showed local residents that the previously underutilized green space could be a great place to spend time, bump into old friends and hang out with the family. The challenge will be to manage the park with the type of programming that will keep people wanting to come back.

Previous posts:
Houston Downtown Park Groundbreaking [KHOU]
Project Concept Plan [from the PPS Project Experience Files]
 

As part of a project Providence, RI, PPS lead a workshop of over 100 city officials, business owners, residents and representatives of nonprofit groups about potential improvements to the city's central plaza, Kennedy Plaza.

"All over the world, people are coming back to these great squares. Once you've got a great square, the rest of your city is going to fall into place," said Kent. He and PPS envision a Kennedy Plaza that is ringed by shops, full of attractions and serves as the hub for a different kind of transit system, one based on trolleys or trams.

The StreetStars series focuses on the heroes and organizers in our communities who are fighting constructively for livable streets.

Christine Berthet, co-founder of Chekpeds (the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen Pedestrian Safety Coalition), worked with TA and PPS, and was instrumental in organizing the Ninth Avenue Renaissance.

Kaiser Permanente's own Preston Maring, MD, shared his Thanksgiving menu – developed using organic, locally sourced produce – on a live ABC News broadcast Wednesday morning.

Dr. Maring, who founded Kaiser Permanente's farmers' markets program in 2003, talked about why good food is such a key ingredient in the recipe for healthy living. Dr. Maring recounted how he created the farmers' market program because he thought that his patients and colleagues could live healthier lives if they consumed more fruits and vegetables.

He opened Kaiser Permanente's first farmers' market at Oakland Medical Center in 2003. Today , 38 Kaiser Permanente facilities offer organic produce markets. Further, Kaiser Permanente's medical centers in Northern California use organic produce in thousands of patient meals each day.

Maring recently received a Kellogg Foundation Food in Society Policy Fellowship for his work creating the farmers' markets.

Watch Dr. Maring now on ABC News. You also can check out his Thanksgiving recipes through his blog.

PPS Vice President Ethan Kent was one of the presenters at the Sustainable Tourism Development Forum held in Pawtucket, RI on Thursday, October 25, 2007.

The Providence Journal
By Philip Marcelo

PAWTUCKET— Policymakers, city planners and tourism officials from Rhode Island and neighboring Connecticut and Massachusetts gathered downtown yesterday for a forum on “place-making” sponsored by the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council.

“Place-making is taking a place that you can’t wait to get out of and making it into one that you never want to leave,” explained guest presenter Ethan Kent, vice president of the Project for Public Spaces, a consulting and design firm based in New York.

The half-day of presentations and small-group discussions was geared toward those interested in sustainable tourism, which the tourism council describes as development that enhances a place by using its cultural, natural, historical, human, educational and built resources to differentiate it from other destinations.

The Farmers Market Federation of New York, a 2006 PPS grantee, received a $125,000 grant from the Humpty Dumpty Institute to encourage Electronic Benefit Transfer (food stamp) recipients in upstate New York to use their benefits at their local farmers markets. The pilot program hopes to expand the use of EBT cards at 43 farmers markets in upstate counties.

Beginning in the 2008 market season, EBT customers will receive a $5 coupon for every $5 they spend using EBT on fruits and vegetables at a farmers market. This will not only double their purchasing power, but will also double the amount of healthy, local produce they take home. ﾓThis program has double impact. It not only encourages food stamp recipients to purchase more fruits and vegetable, but also benefits New Yorkﾒs small family farmers,ﾔ said Constance Milstein, chairman of the Humpty Dumpty Institute.

Incentives programs for attracting EBT clients to farmers markets have been successful in markets across the nation, including in Lynn, Massachusetts and New York City, where the cityï¾’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is partnering with farmers markets to distribute Health Bucks, $2 coupons for fresh produce, to EBT customers spending $5 in local produce at the markets.

 

When USA Today asked Alice Waters, co-owner of the famed restaurant Chez Panisse, to compile a list of some of the country’s best farmers markets she made sure to include PPS grantee City Seed, located in New Haven, CT.

One of only two East Coast markets cited, the City Seed Wooster Square Farmers Market was noted for their focus on accessibility. The market accepts Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons, as well as Electronic Benefits Transfer (food stamps), making it easier for low-income New Haven residents to shop and enjoy the market.

Jennifer McTiernan, executive director of City Seed, was pleased with the recognition,“We were thrilled with the USA Today article, not just because it mentioned the market that we run, but because it specifically listed that we were accessible to the community. Though I think that there’s definitely more we could do to make that more of a reality, it was exciting to see the work that we have done in that area being recognized.”

Click here to read the full USA Today article Top Ten Markets for Cultivating Organic Growers
 

 

PPS Senior Fellow Jay Walljasper discusses The Great Neighborhood Book at the The Micro Revolution: Neighbors Making a Difference event held in Chicago on September 20, 2007.

Neighbors Making a Difference
By Jay Walljasper 

"My hope that day was to showcase inspiring examples of how everyday citizens made tremendous improvements in the place they call home by putting their heads together with neighbors to conceive new ideas for their neighborhoods and then rolling up their sleeves to put these into action."

A sunny, near perfect September day took me to Chicago, where the Metropolitan Planning Council had graciously invited me to talk about the role neighborhoods play in social change. That's the message of my new book The Great Neighborhood Book (New Society Publishers), written in partnership with my colleagues at Project for Public Spaces (PPS). "The citizens are the experts," has long been the PPS mantra, based on their 30 years of experience helping communities achieve their dreams of becoming safe, lively, livable, lovable places. This phrase reinforces the idea that architects, traffic engineers, public officials planners and other professionals have valuable contributions to make towards neighborhood revitalization efforts, but when their plans turn a deaf ear to a community's own aspirations for the future, the results often fall far short of the goals.

Come to "Streets as Places", PPS's new training seminar, and learn how Placemaking can build great streets and great communities.

The course will introduce participants to new ways of thinking about streets as public spaces. It is intended for anyone who is interested in creating a great street, including transportation professionals who want to learn more about how streets can help to build communities, civic and elected officials who realize that greater economic impact can result from changing the way that roads are designed, and citizen activists who understand that the time to change is now.

Presentations and discussion will center on how streets, roads, and transit facilities can be designed and managed to benefit communities, in addition to serving mobility needs. Practical tools for assessing a variety of street typologies and case studies of cities which have moved beyond solving mobility problems to community building will be presented, and participants will be encouraged to discuss their own projects as well as share experiences and ideas with each other.

The training session will include a walking tour and discussion of some of the recent street improvement projects in New York City, an on-site Placemaking street audit, seminar-style lectures, and open discussions about current transportation issues and challenges facing cities today.

For more information and to register, visit the event homepage.

This July, PPS president Fred Kent and senior vice president Kathy Madden attended the 3rd annual Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado. This 6-day festival brought together some of the most important and fascinating ideas of our time. The presentation-, networking-, and discussion-based setting was designed to share and advance these great ideas not only among the scientists, artists, politicians, historians, educators, community activists, and great thinkers present, but to the wider world as well.

Listen to the entire audio recording of Fred and Kathy’s presentation to this prestigious group, entitled, “What if We Built Cities Around Places? The Power of 10.”

 

A few weeks ago, a group of dedicated placemakers gathered at a landmark event in Seattle, the Great Places Symposium, laying the groundwork for an even larger regional movement around the idea of place. PPS has been in close contact with the leaders of this new network, called the Great Places Forum, since its inception, and we are thrilled to highlight the Seattle region's vibrant Placemaking network, which is working to unite like-minded people across the country around the importance of place.

The three-day conference brought together leaders from a variety of professions and fields to "celebrate and advocate for the necessity of placemaking in the vitality of our downtowns and suburbs, rural landscapes and villages." Among the many positive results of the symposium was the drafting and signing of an unprecedented document called the Great Places Declaration. The forward-thinking spirit that this declaration embodies should be celebrated as a huge step forward for Placemaking networks everywhere, and we at PPS are delighted that the Seattle region is fully embracing the movement and the challenges that come with it.

A Landmark Symposium Sets the Stage for Greater Change

Billed as a working "think tank," the Great Places Forum brought together the Seattle region's Placemaking leaders July 19-21. Participants included a wide-ranging group of leaders from the fields of urban planning, municipal government, environmental studies, architecture, real estate development, international sustainability, and community organizing. Organizers billed the symposium as a way to "celebrate and advocate for the necessity of placemaking in the vitality of our downtowns and suburbs, rural landscapes and villages."

PPS's Fred Kent, Kathy Madden, and Ethan Kent attended the symposium, along with other leaders from organizations like the Trust for Public Land, the Cascade Land Conservancy, and the Urban Land Institute. Public sector leaders were also present, from Seattle City Planning Director John Rahaim to representatives of the Seattle Department of Transportation and many other municipalities.

Two PPS board members, Ron Sher and Don Miles, have developed the Great Places Forum along with Karen True, its current director. Their work has created new opportunities for great public spaces to emerge and flourish in the greater Seattle region. PPS has been a part of this planning process, and we laud the Great Places Forum as huge step toward a more open, productive dialogue about place. If people and organizations with experience in Placemaking discuss and share their understanding of what makes great public spaces, their ideas gain the momentum necessary to reach more individuals, communities, and places worldwide.

The "Great Spaces Declaration"

The leaders who attended the Great Places Symposium closed the conference by signing a document called the Great Places Declaration, their shared statement of intent to foster a network of people and resources to support the creation of great places. The document voiced the basic principles and ideals that these leaders shared:

"We assert that Great Places act as a magnet, drawing people together to live, work and play in complete and sustainable communities, allowing us to preserve natural spaces and enhance the health of the planet."

They also outlined a clear statement of intent for the future of the movement:

"We affirm these ideas and together pledge to create new policies, systems, and initiatives to shape Great Places for the enrichment of future generations."

This is language that evokes responses, shared thinking that fosters innovation, and action that gains attention. The next step is to turn these bold declarations of intent and collaborative networks into real, tangible action. PPS is proud to see this kind of raw potential taking a tangible, constructive path among professionals in the Seattle region.

Moving forward

The Great Places Forum has not stopped with the 2007 Great Places Symposium. What happened this July has laid the foundation for the upcoming "Great Places Day and Conference" in July 2008. The conference, which will be preceded by two days of hands-on workshops, will be a "grand festival and celebration of 'Great Places.'" Through this much larger, outreach-based event, the Great Places Forum hopes to engage a gathering of thousands of members of the general public around the importance of Placemaking. International speakers will communicate the importance of Placemaking for the "core well-being of our society," and conference plans include opportunities for Placemakers at all levels: international, national, regional, and local.

These far-reaching plans offer enormous potential and a significant hope for those of us committed to seeing the cause of Placemaking spread to as many active, engaged minds as possible. The Great Spaces Declaration and the Forum's plans to continue spreading the word for the Placemaking movement exemplify one of PPS's 11 Principles of Placemaking: You are never finished. We to watching this movement take shape in the greater Seattle region and the nation as a whole, and look forward to seeing it complement our own work in Placemaking.

Project for Public Spaces Vice President, Ethan Kent, writes about Melbourne's successful new public space development, Federation Square, and a Placemaking training course that he helped lead, which included many city staff, local developers and "place managers."

 

Three urban planners from PPS visited Churchhill County and Fallon, NV, in an effort to inventory and assess local gathering places and destinations around town. 

Phil Myrick, vice president of PPS, and Elena Madison, assistant vice president, presented a list of sites they felt could be better utilized in Fallon. The team, which also included farmers market expert David O'Neil, toured downtown and the county and polled local residents on needed changes or additions to bring people together and to the downtown area.

As cities are building new parks at a rate not seen for 100 years, the debate about what uses and activities to put in them is growing. 

Phil Myrick, a PPS Vice President, comments on how PPS helped create a program of uses for a new park in Houston that will generate buzz in a long-forgotten area of downtown, in this article from the Wall Street Journal.

 

Seattle's Occidental Square is making a comeback!

The square had long been an empty, dreary, underused space.  But recent renovations have brought new pavings, bocce ball courts, and a series of special events that are bringing people back to Occidental Square.

Read more about PPS's involvement in the turnaround.

Photo taken by Dan Gonsiorowski

Seattlest recently visited the square on a sunny afternoon.
 

Local politicians - lawyers among them - will be staging a mock trial Saturday on whether to set free a wooden bench near the Surrey Central SkyTrain and bus loop in Surrey, British Columbia.

The idea for the bench trial came about after public spaces guru Fred Kent, President of Project for Public Spaces, toured Whalley and spotted the bench, encaged by an iron fence, and marveled at the waste.

There are 4,400 farmers markets in the United States, more than three times the number in 1994, with an estimated sales volume of $1 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture. But not one is quite like Crossroads in Takoma Park, funded in part by a grant awarded by Project for Public Spaces and funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The City of Greensboro held a ribbon cutting ceremony on December 1, 2006, to celebrate the opening of the new Center City Park, and the park has already been widely accepted by the community, and host to several large events and festivals.

Read more on how PPS worked with the City and community members to create a vision for this new park.

In order to foster ideas on how to reclaim 9th Avenue from Lincoln Tunnel traffic, the Clinton/Hell's Kitchen Pedestrian Safety Coalition (CHEKPEDS) sponsored a six month community input process designed by Project for Public Spaces.

Community Board 4 will hold a vote tonight on adopting report findings as "the official community vision." If that happens, the report will be incorporated as community input in the federally funded engineering study of entrances to the Lincoln Tunnel.

Speeding is down at an intersection in Ramsey, NJ, where temporary traffic calming devices were installed at the end of last month.

Modifications to the corner were just one of the changes suggested by Project for Public Spaces during a study of the streets around a train station that opened in 2004.