In working to create better places, keep the stakes low, so even skeptics are more willing to indulge some risk. Take a little step. Root the conversation in reality. Then adjust and press on to those big plans.
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The less you look like everyone else and the more you look like yourself, the better off you’ll be. This truth should be driving your town’s development. In fact, creating a distinctive sense of place is your competitive advantage.
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One of the best ways to deeply understand the place you live is to slow down—way down—the way you get around it.
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Untapped, a six-week pop-up beer garden in the landmark Tennessee Brewery in downtown Memphis, might well have been a goodbye party for the long-neglected building. Instead, it caught a local developer’s interest and led to a second life for the historic structure.
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To visit the Hapi Fresh Farmer’s Market in Akron, Ohio, is to see the beginning of a journey. Seeds have been planted to draw in more residents, more businesses, and to nurture a return to prosperity for the neighborhood.
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A new book from AARP’s Livable Communities initiative showcases 100+ examples from America’s inspiring local leaders.
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After the crowds clear, what type of long-term impact does a public event leave in its wake?
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Here are 8 small things you can do to make a place more inviting, productive and happy.
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A year after Strong Towns shared its message in this rural Minnesota region, small-scale improvement projects abound.
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Here are the three core characteristics you need for a successful urban center, plus how to creatively make them happen on a shoestring budget.
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American communities need to shift away from a big box retail strategy to a local, placemaking retail strategy. When placemaking urban centers become the default model, local retailers flourish and a broad, diverse Democratized Economy emerges.
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You cannot build a place of enduring value that isn't homey, that isn't loved.
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Austin's Neighborhood Partnering Program gives neighborhoods the tools and financial support they need to implement small-scale improvements in their community.
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What would it take to keep us in the place where we grew up? Or if we do move, what characteristics of a place would lead us to decide to settle in?
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This week Chuck Marohn was invited to the White House to talk about rural placemaking with leaders from around the country.
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Somewhere inside you is that childlike itch to make-believe or draw funny faces on things. Play is such an amazing way to engage with the city and people around us. It creates an atmosphere of light-heartedness and curiosity. It humanizes an environment instantly and can lend your city a sense of humour. It's also good for you!
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Last week, I was asked to join a panel discussion posed with the question, What role does placemaking have in building sustainable communities? This gave me a great excuse to break down and map out my personal theory of change. Here it is: love and working together. Have no doubt, the triteness is not lost on me - I grimace even writing this, but I really believe there's something to it.
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Some of the best from contributor Andrew Price, including our favorite: Places and non-Places.
Read MoreI’ve long been a proponent of the buy local movement for the warm fuzzies, but now I can bolster that with a more powerful motivator: guilt. Buying local has become a bit of a sport in our household as we try to create the most underdog windfall with each purchase. We feel obliged to help pick up the tab for the beautiful streetscapes and social capital that locally-owned businesses provide.
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