{"id":18673,"date":"2016-12-29T01:32:39","date_gmt":"2016-12-29T01:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/?p=18673"},"modified":"2016-12-29T01:32:39","modified_gmt":"2016-12-29T01:32:39","slug":"the-power-of-placemaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/the-power-of-placemaking\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Placemaking"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, at my host company I was transferred to our Community Activation team; this is a good thing for me because the team is more aligned with my interests, career goals and the mission of Challenge Detroit. As a result, I have been working on related projects and doing a lot of thinking about the term \u201cplacemaking\u201d.<\/p>\n

I think it is an aspect that\u2019s often over looked as it pertains to community development, but very important. As defined by the Projects for Public Spaces<\/em> organization,\u00a0placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. Strengthening the connection between people and the places they share, placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which\u00a0we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value.<\/p>\n

Placemaking should always be done with a bottom up approach and should create developments with the community members in mind. It isn\u2019t about pleasing prominent city officials. It isn\u2019t about appealing to the city\u2019s tourism industry. It\u2019s all about giving community members something to feel proud of, giving a voice to those who feel voiceless and celebrating\"\" the culture and history of those who live there.<\/p>\n

When I think about place making, I always envision a child walking past a vacant, unkept lot on their way to school every day, and image how it must make them feel. I then think about my own past experiences as a kid. I didn\u2019t grow up in a bad neighborhood per say, but it was kind of sketchy and surrounded by several \u201cnot so desirable\u201d spaces. My whole mindset and mood would change depending on the how the environment of a certain area looked in terms of abandonment, vacancy and overall development.<\/p>\n

When biking through a less developed area or areas that looked vacant\/uncared for, I felt unsafe, anxiety even, and wanted to get out\u00a0quickly. But when I would walk through a neighborhood with flowers planted, street art and parks where the swings were still attached, I felt safe and welcomed. I can recall different phases that my neighborhood went through in terms of development and how to impacted my overall sense of pride and safety.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Placemaking is important and really makes a difference in communities here in Detroit and all around the world. And it doesn\u2019t have to be an expensive, time consuming process. It can be done by using community resources that are already in existence. Here are two of my favorite quotes about placemaking from community revitalization expert David Engwicht:<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as a home maker turns a house into a home, a place maker turns a space into a place\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlacemaking shows people just how powerful collective vision can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m really excited to learn more about this concept and hopefully be directly involved with it in the near future.<\/p>\n

Here is one of my favorite videos on this new topic that I have become somewhat obsessed with:<\/p>\n

-Gabrial Taylor:<\/p>\n

Year 5 Challenge Detroit Fellow<\/p>\n