1. Placemaking
Creating the City of the Future
December 7th, 2010, Seoul
2. What if We Built our Communities
around Places ?
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
3. When you focus on a place,
you do everything differently.
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
4. It’s hard for people to realize that creating a
place is more important than design. ─ PPS
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
5. Place-making is an incredibly complex
art. When people talk glibly about
sustainable communities, there are very
few people that can actually make that
happen because it requires a lot of effort,
it requires a lot of learning, it requires a
lot of experience.
Prince Charles
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
6. Wonderful, Transformative Times
An opportunity to fix and redefine cities
around Local Values and Assets
The competition to build great cities around
Authentic Destinations is the “New” Agenda
The new/old Development Strategy is
around “Public” Destinations
Great Cities are more and more defined by
their Neighborhoods
There is a growing interest in connecting
Green with Place…or Placemaking with
Sustainability
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
8. “Converging Ideas around Place”
“The blunt calculation by public officials that if
they can’t make their downtowns and
neighborhoods appealing, they can’t
compete… all of these hinge on the
deceptively simple challenge of creating
places… that people intuitively like.”
-- Governing Magazine
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
9. Convergence of Movements
Civil Society/
Community Democracy Building
Public Health and
Development &
Community Livability
Smart Growth
Energy & Environmental
Consumption PLACES Sustainability
Local Food
Local Economies Systems
Transportation
Historic Preservation & Land Use
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
10. Regions where Placemaking has Roots
Singapore Czech Republic Mexico
South Korea Montenegro Colombia
Japan Argentina
Serbia
Hong Kong Chile
Kosovo
Australia Croatia Brazil
New Zealand Hungary St Kitts/Nevis
Canada Poland South Africa
Slovakia Tanzania
Netherlands Romania
Dubai
Norway Bulgaria
Abu Dhabi
UK/ Scotland Georgia
Italy
Armenia
Chicago
Houston
Amsterdam Los Angeles
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
11. “Placemaking” is an overarching idea
and a hands-on tool for improving a
Neighborhood, City or Region. It has
the potential to be one of the most
transformative ideas of this century
Metropolitan Planning Council - Chicago
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
12. The Benefits of Place
Nurtures a Sense of
Community
Builds Local
Economies Improves Safety
and Security
PLACE
Enhances
Accessibility Fosters Meaningful
for All Interaction
Draws a Diverse
Population
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
13. What is Placemaking?
Placemaking is a dynamic human function: it
is an act of liberation, of staking claim, and
of beautification; it is true human
empowerment.
Placemaking is turning a neighborhood,
town or city from a place you can’t wait to
get through to one you never want to leave.
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
14. Key Attributes
What Makes a Great Place? Intangibles
Measurements
street life business ownership
evening use property values
volunteerism land-use patterns
Fun retail sales
Welcoming
Cooperative Active Vital
Neighborly Special Real
sociability uses & activities
PLACE
access & linkages comfort & image
Connected Safe
Walkable Charm Clean
Convenient Attractive
Accessible Historic crime stats
transit usage sanitation rating
pedestrian activity building conditions
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
parking usage patterns environmental data
15. PPS Project Areas
Squares Transportation Downtowns
Public Markets Waterfronts Civic Centers
Parks New Development Campuses
16. 35 Years of Placemaking
50 U.S. States, 7 Canadian Provinces
41 Countries
3000 Communities
2 Million visitors to our web sites (2009)
35,000 people get our electronic
newsletter
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
17. William H. (Holly) Whyte
The Organization Man,1956
The Exploding Metropolis, 1958
The Last Landscape, 1968
Plan for the City of New York, 1969
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, 1980
City: Rediscovering the Center, 1988
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
18. Blank walls are an end in themselves. They declare the
supremacy of architecture over humanity, of a building
over a person.
Museum of Modern Art - NYC
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
19. Benches are artifacts, the purpose of which is to
punctuate architectural photographs. They are not so
good for sitting.
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
22. “What attracts people most it would appear,
is other people.”
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
23. One of the best things about water is the look and
feel of it…It’s not right to put water before people and
then keep them away from it.
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
29. Creating a Great City – Some
Uncommon Truths
Develop/ lead demand with public destinations
The value created by the public realm
destinations will drive the success of the
project.
Place Capital as a primary focus to best achieve
larger goals
Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
33. Creating a Great Square
Amsterdam Plein 40-45, Holland
September 21st, 2010 PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
34. Burg. De Vlugtlaan City District Office Market area Shopping mall
Slotermeerlaan
9
10
7
8
6
5
1
4
3 2
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
35. Placemaking ~
Creating the Waterfront City of the Future
Image to be added
Destination Bayfront
Corpus Christi PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
October 7, 2010
48. The Power of Ten
City/Town 10+ major destinations/
districts
Districts/
10+ places
Destinations
10+ things to do
Place
Layering of uses to
create synergy
(Triangulation)
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
49. Singapore - 10 Sites
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
51. Power of 10
2. Window 3. Learn about
5. Walk
1. Read the paper shopping for books upcoming events
4. Go inside!
10. Have a
conversation
6. Sit and relax
7. Read someone 8. Take a break 9. Pet a dog
else’s book from a bike ride
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
75. Transformative Agendas
Transportation that builds places and helps to
create and connect destinations
An Architecture of Place – disciplines transcend
their roles beyond design and silos
All destinations as multi-use with a broad public
and community purpose
Local and authentic retail, markets, and
community centers
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
76. PPS Program Areas and
Transformative Agendas
Program Areas: Transformative Agendas:
• Transportation Building Community Through
• Public Markets Transportation
• Civic Centers
• Parks Public Markets and Local
• Downtowns Economies
• Mixed-Use
Developments Community Anchors /
• Campuses Architecture of Place
• Squares
• Waterfronts Creating Public Multi-Use
Destinations
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES
