Additional Information from George Sharp

All - George sent this along today and it looks to be a great additional resource for idea generating. The information is from: Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public places that build communities. We provide technical assistance, training, research and other services. Since our founding in 1975, we have worked in over 1,500 communities in the United States and around the world, helping people turn their public spaces into vital community places. MMB.

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How to Turn a Place Around - Placemaking and the Power of 10

"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, IL

We are currently experiencing what many of us believe will be the most significant change in our lifetimes. As our carefree, decades-long splurge becomes a distant memory, people everywhere are looking for ways to avoid meltdown and move forward in a time of increasing uncertainty.

At the same time, we at PPS see an enormous opportunity to reset the way things are done, to replace the old paradigm with one that is not so much about the individual as it is about the community, places, who we are, and what we are about. Looking back over the past few decades, development has been largely focused on shopping destinations like malls, strip centers and lifestyle centers. As a result, we failed to create the major public destinations that define cities and communities.

As we regroup around this new agenda, we have evolved the theme of our biannual "How to Turn a Place Around" training to Placemaking and the Power of 10. We have added many topics to the upcoming course that expand the agenda to encompass entire communities, cities and regions.

Topics which we will cover in more depth in April include:

• The idea of Placemaking and the Power of 10
• Creating New Types of Public Destinations - Qualities of these types of destinations, best and worst case studies, tools and techniques
• Community Process - How to effectively engage the community in the planning process
• Implementing Public Destinations - Case studies, including Campus Martius in Detroit and Discovery Green in Houston
• Developing Campaigns - Working with leadership, grassroots and public agencies to affect change in communities
• How Placemaking can be applied to cross-cutting issues such as sustainability, health, diversity, and livability
• Building community through:
• Local Economies and Markets - creating new and innovative models for public markets that are economically sustainable and attract a broad diversity of people
• Community Anchors - how to develop libraries, museums, schools, civic and cultural centers as community gathering places
• Transportation - Streets as Places and Thinking Beyond the Station, how streets can contribute to better communities

The April "How to Turn a Place Around" training is almost full--register now to secure your space! For other trainings in your area, check the events section of our blog at http://blog.pps.org, or schedule a tailored training for your community by contacting Dana Kitzes at dkitzes@pps.org.