Placemaking 101: Ten Steps to Transform a Public Space

“It’s difficult to design a space that will not attract people. What is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished,” the urbanist and author William Whyte once said. We all know those spaces: the corner at the end of the bloc

1. The Community is the Expert

That the community is the expert might be the defining principle of the PPS placemaking process. Tap your community early in the process to help create a sense of ownership of a project. All

2. Create a Place, Not a Design

To make an under-performing space into a vital “place,” elements should be introduced that make people welcome and comfortable. Things like modular seating and new landscaping c

3. You Can't Do It Alone

Finding a diverse group of partners is critical to the success of your project. Local institutions, museums, schools, and small businesses all make great partners and will help ensure your pro

4. Observe How Spaces Are Currently Used

Look at how people are using (or not using) public spaces. What do they like about them? What don’t they like about them?  Why do couples sit near the trees instead

5. Have a Vision

The vision for a public space should come out of each individual community but it needs to consider what kinds of activities can happen in the space as well as how to make it comfortable. Perhaps most imp

6. Start with the Petunias

Public spaces are complex and you cannot expect to do everything right initially. The best spaces are developed with short-term improvements that can be tested and refined over many years. Seating, ou

7. Triangulate

A big word for a very simple concept. “Triangulation is the process by which some external stimulus provides a linkage between people and prompts strangers to talk to other strangers as if they knew each ot

8. Form Supports Function

The people who use the space know what the space needs. And although design is important, input from the community and partners will tell you what “form” you need to make the space successf

9. Money Is Not the Issue

It’s not that money is not an issue, it’s that money is not the issue. Of course projects need money, and not everything can be donated, but once you pool the resources of yo

10. You Are Never Finished

By their very nature good public spaces respond to the shifting needs of the community and will require maintenance. Amenities wear out and the area surrounding the space can change so flexibility and