From house to home, from space to place

Plazas, green and open spaces, parks, water fountains, public art, benches, historical markers – these are examples for elements of successful community gathering places. Placemaking is more than just planning, design, management and programming of spaces – it brings people together. The active participation of citizens in the development and design of public space is essential. Attractive design has a positive effect not only for residents but also for investors. But what exactly does this term mean and who makes places? And what is the difference between space and place?

The term “placemaking” appears in the field of urban planning, urban development and community building. Rebuilding processes are usually economically oriented. Placemaking is supposed to change that, using social, cultural and environmental factors instead. The aim is to reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. The concept primarily refers to those public spaces (streets, squares, parks) that no longer meet the demands of a better quality of life in the perception of citizens and in the way they are used. It’s about paying attention to the physical, cultural and social identities that define a place. This community based approach works only where the activator assigns a socio-emotional meaning to the space. Placemaking is a process that promotes the creation of key public endpoints, resulting in a strong sense of community. It’s a hands-on tool to breathe life into streets and neighbourhoods, while making them inviting, safe and attractive. Through looking at, listening to and asking people about who resides in a particular space, one wants to discover their needs and aspirations. The whole community should therefore engage actively in design concepts and outcomes. In order to plan a place, community inputs are very important, as one can find out, if people use places or not and why this happens. This bottom-up approach promotes the interaction between people and favours healthier, more social, and more efficient communities. In particular, such spaces are selected to which a connection or meaning is given. Through placemaking, the quality of public space can be increased and a sense of place can be developed. This forms the basis for protection, security and order in public space and enables people to feel comfortable. Placemaking includes urban design, branding, popup and management. When urban design and placemaking are combined, then the physical design of the room is in the foreground.

In 2013, the city of Santa Monica and Melendrez hosted, with the help of Community Arts Resources, a festival/workshop/installation called Pop-Up MANGo, where the placemaking concept was implemented. Through this festival, which is named after the Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway, citizens had the opportunity to see and evaluate improvements in the public realm during the planning process. Thereby, temporary installations of possible improvements, like traffic calming devices, chicanes, curb extensions, mini-parks or enhanced landscaping for a new Greenway corridor, were showcased. The event was very community-oriented. Local musicians performed, food trucks and booths with local organizations were on offer and arts activities for children were provided.

The Power of 10

First of all, in order to understand this concept, there must be a distinction between place and space. While space means the physical description of a piece of land, a place is connected with an emotional attachment to this specific piece of land. Making a space into a place is like making a house into a home. In order to create a place that thrives, it needs at least ten reasons to be there or ten things to do there. These may be a place to sit, art to touch, playgrounds to enjoy, music to hear, food to purchase, historic information to learn about, people to meet or books to read. The same applies to the whole city, as it is important that there are ten major destinations in a city or region. Last but not least there have to be ten good neighbourhoods in a city. Just one great place in a neighbourhood is not enough — you need more to create a lively city.

11 principles of turning spaces into places

However, the idea of placemaking is not new: Thinking about it began in the 1960s. Jane Jacobs and William H. Whyte found it very important, that lively neighbourhoods and inviting public spaces were designed. Altogether there are following eleven principles for doing this:

1. The community is the expert
   The community, for which the public space is intended, and people, who are using it most, know how the area functions and thus should give inputs. The incorporation of their ideas is essential for creating a community place which is successful and vital.
2. Places, not designs
   Design is not the only factor for creating a place. The provision of access and the creation of active uses, economic opportunities and programming are important components too. There are four key attributes which a public space possesses. These are accessibility, activities, comfort and sociability.
3. Placemaking is a group effort — you can’t do it alone
   Partners can provide more resources, innovative ideas, new sources of energy and expertise than one single person or an organization. Additionally, they contribute financial or political support, help to plan activities and coordinate schedules for programming and improvement projects. These partners can be individuals, private or municipal institutions, museums, schools and others.
4. Make and act on observations
   To understand what a community likes or doesn’t like about a public space, it is helpful to observe how a public space is used. With this information, one can find out what activities and amenities may be missing from the space.
5. Develop a vision
   Placemaking needs a vision to succeed, which should be the aggregate conception of the entire community. This vision addresses the character, activities and uses of the community of public spaces.
6. Start with the petunias: lighter, quicker, cheaper
   Before implementing big changes, short-term actions, like planting flowers, can be a way of testing ideas. This can also give people the confidence that change is occurring and that their ideas matter.
7. Triangulate
   Locating elements like benches, trash receptacles, telephones and coffee kiosks near each other at a bus stop can increase the chances of activity occurring around them. These things enhance each other and are more convenient for bus passengers than if they were isolated from each other.
8. Ignore naysayers
   When someone says, “It can’t be done,” then it usually means, “We’ve never done it like this before.” What is needed are leaders of the community who share the same vision and build support.
9. Form supports function 
   Thinking about how to use a space after it is built often causes high costs, as conversions are often necessary afterwards. Exact planning and designing can lower costs and eliminate the need to retrofit a public space, which is just poorly used. The form factor of a public space should be formulated with the functions intended.
10. Money should not be an issue
    As funds for public-sector improvements are often scarce, it is important to consider the value of public spaces for potential partners and to find creative ways around financial obstacles.
11. Placemaking is an ongoing process and thus is never finished
    As the use of a public space changes daily, weekly and seasonally, management is critical. Placemaking is an ongoing process and is never “done”. To improve the space’s usefulness, minor upgrades can be made.

To sum up, placemaking is based on civil society engagement and seeks to promote it. It contributes to improving public spaces such as streets, sidewalks, parks, buildings and other public spaces. The formation of social capital should be promoted and supported, as people work together to shape public spaces. The whole community engages actively in design concepts and outcomes. Last but not least, placemaking can encourage healthy behaviour, as places provide options for active transportation. This may include walking, biking or transit. But not only physical, but also mental health gets improved, as you meet other people and establish new contacts.

Keywords

making places, community, bottom-up, participation, public space, place, space, citizen participation, Urban Design