What%20if%20we%20built%20our%20communities%20around%20spaces%20 %20project%20for%20public%20spaces%2

PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES

Mass Smart Growth Alliance

June 23rd, 2011

What if We Built our Communities

around Places ?

We Have to Turn Everything Upside

Down - To Get it Right Side Up

Place-making is an incredibly

complex art. When people talk glibly

about sustainable communities,

there are very few people that can

actually make that happen because

it requires a lot of effort, it requires a

lot of learning, it requires a lot of

experience.

Prince Charles


When you focus on a place,

you do everything differently.

Wonderful, Transformative Times

An opportunity to fix and redefine communities around Local Values and Assets

The competition to build great communities around Authentic “Public” Destinations is the“New”/”Old” Agenda

There is a growing interest in connecting Green with Place…or Placemaking with Sustainability, Smart Growth, Community Health

Placemaking, Power of 10, and Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper are the new tools

Creating a Great City – Some

Uncommon Truths

Develop/ lead demand with public destinations

The value created by the public realm

destinations will drive the success of the

project.

Place Capital as a primary focus to best achieve

larger goals

Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper


“The blunt calculation by public officials that if

they can’t make their downtowns and

neighborhoods appealing, they can’t

compete… all of these hinge on the

deceptively simple challenge of creating

places… that people intuitively like.”

-- Governing Magazine

“Converging Ideas around Place”


50 U.S. States, 7 Canadian Provinces

40 Countries

2500 Communities

2 Million visitors to our web sites (2008)

35,000 people get our electronic

newsletter

36 Years of Placemaking


PPS Program Areas and

Transformative Agendas

Program Areas:

• Transportation

• Public Markets

• Civic Centers

• Parks

• Downtowns

• Mixed-Use

Developments

• Campuses

• Squares

• Waterfronts

Transformative Agendas:

Building Community Through

Transportation

Public Markets and Local

Economies

Community Anchors /

Architecture of Place

Creating Public Multi-Use

Destinations

William H. (Holly) Whyte

The Organization Man,1956

The Exploding Metropolis, 1958

The Last Landscape, 1968

Plan for the City of New York, 1969

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, 1980

City: Rediscovering the Center, 1988



Museum of Modern Art - NYC

Blank walls are an end in themselves. They declare the

supremacy of architecture over humanity, of a building

over a person.


Benches are artifacts, the purpose of which is to

punctuate architectural photographs. They are not so

good for sitting.


“What attracts people most it would appear,

is other people.”

One of the best things about water is the look and

feel of it…It’s not right to put water before people and

then keep them away from it.




If you want to seed a place with activity,

put out food.

If no one wants to go

out to the Park, no one

is going to stop them.─ Yogi Berra



It’s hard for people to realize that creating a place is

more important than design. ─ PPS


The street is the river of life,

the place where we come to together,

the pathway to the center.

– William H. Whyte

What if we Built our Communities around

Happiness and Community Wellbeing?

Comfort and Amenities












Overarching Ideas

Placemaking

Process / The Community is the Expert

Convergence

Benefits of Great Squares and Streets

Power of 10





Placemaking Tools to

Transform Communities

Power of 10

Place Performance Evaluation

Game


Crowd-Sourcing APPS


Placemaking

When you focus on a place,

you do everything differently.

Providence, RI

1

2 Bridge

4

Peck

Street

Ship

Street

Inlet

Eastern

Park

3

Site 3-Pedestrian Bridge

Scenic outlooks/Kissing Places

“beer garden”

Local merchants/vendors

Fishing

Floating boat docks

Picnic tables and benches

Waterfire boathouse

What is Placemaking?

Placemaking is a dynamic human function: it

is an act of liberation, of staking claim, and

of beautification; it is true human

empowerment.

Placemaking is turning a neighborhood,

town or city from a place you can’t wait to

get through to one you never want to leave.

Metropolitan Planning Council - Chicago

“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


What Makes a Great Place?


sociability uses & activities

access & linkages comfort & image

Welcoming

evening use

volunteerism

street life

transit usage

parking usage patterns

pedestrian activity

Walkable

Convenient

Accessible

Charm Clean

Attractive

Historic

Safe

building conditions

environmental data

sanitation rating

crime stats

Cooperative

Neighborly

property values

land-use patterns

retail sales

business ownership

Special Real

Fun

Active Vital

Connected

Key Attributes

Intangibles

Measurements

PLACE

Fosters Meaningful

Interaction

Improves Safety

and Security

Nurtures a Sense of

Community

Draws a Diverse

Population

Builds Local

Economies

Enhances

Accessibility

for All

The Benefits of Place

PLACE

Place Performance Game

Project/Discipline

Driven Approach• Empowers Communities

• Attracts partners, money

& creative solutions

• Professionals become

resources

• Design supports uses

• Solutions are flexible

• Engagement and

commitment grow

Pla

ce /

Com

munit

y D

riven

Appro

ach

Convergence



Environmental

Sustainability

Civil Society/

Democracy BuildingPublic Health and

Community Livability

Community

Development &

Smart Growth

Energy &

Consumption

Convergence of Movements

PLACES

Local Food

Systems

Transportation

& Land Use

Local Economies

Historic Preservation

Layering of uses to create synergy (Triangulation) =

District


Region/City/Town/

Neighborhood

Destinations

Place

10+ destinations

10+ places

10+ things to do

Power of 10

6. Sit and relax

1. Read the paper

8. Take a break

from a bike ride

3. Learn about

upcoming events

2. Window shopping

for books

4. Go inside!

10. Have a

conversation

7. Read someone

else’s book

5. Walk

9. Pet a dog

Power of 10


PROJECT FOR

PUBLIC SPACES

Singapore - 10 Sites

Power of 10 Destinations 1980

Power of 10 Destinations Today



Toward Architecture of Place

Community Anchors

A Tale of Two Libraries

Shifting Context of Libraries

HISTORICALLY FUTURE

Information is scarce Information is everywhere

Precious resource Taken for granted

Social mandate Social/economic mandate

Communities need Libraries Libraries need Communities

Public Gathering Place

Marketplace

Community Service Center

Communication and

Language Skills Center

Community Story-

Teller/Civic Information

Center

Business Service &

Development Center

Libraries/ City Halls as The Town Square

“I Don’t Want To Hear About Green

Buildings Any More?”

“Sustainability is simply an extension

of the technocratic society we find

ourselves in.”

Christopher Alexander

An Architecture of Place

Is it sustainable?

Has it minimized its impact?

Does it use the most ecological materials?

Does it celebrate “nature”?

We should also be asking questions like:

Does the building/project generate life?

Does it support its context

(built, cultural, historical, social, economic, place)?

Does it support people and their comfort?

Melbourne – Council Building 2


Streets as Places

Thinking Beyond the Station


When you design your community

around cars…you get more cars.

When you design your community

around people … you get more people.

From Adequate to Extraordinary

Main Street

Littleton, NH

Cottage Street


“The only way to make a busy

road intersection safe is to

make it feel dangerous.”

Shared Streets

STREETS AS PLACES

Drachten, Holland


Shared StreetsDrachten, Holland

STREETS AS PLACES

PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACESSTREETS AS PLACES





Actual

Crashes

STREETS AS PLACES


“If you want vehicles to

behave like they are in

a village, build a

village.”

"Essentially, what it

means is a transfer of

power and

responsibility from the

state to the individual

and the community.

-Hans Monderman

STREETS AS PLACES


Roundabout – Stavanger, Norway


Delray Beach - Corners




Transformative Opportunities

Markets,Local Economies, Local Food

Hubs

Queen’s Birthday, Netherlands

Vondelpark, Amsterdam





PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACESGraham Street Market – Hong Kong


Barcelona


Types of Markets

1. Open Air

Parking lots/Vacant sites

Parks and other public spaces

Street markets (with/without adjacent retail)

2. Covered Markets

3. Market Halls

Structures Built for Markets

Re-use/building conversions

4. Market Districts


Benefit of market to community

(customer’s view)

5.1%5.9%

12.2% 12.6%13.7%

15.0%

17.7%

28.2%

11.1%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

Busines

s oppor

tuniti

es

Entert

ainm

ent

Fresh

ness

Con

venie

nce

Hel

p Eco

nomy

Price

Product

s

Brings p

eople

toget

herO

ther


10%

28%

16%

22%

13%

11%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

$0-100 $101-500 $501-

1,000

$1001-

5,000

$5,001-

10,000

>$10,000

Start up cost for market vendors

Facades created by set- designers

Gabriel’s WharfLondon, England

Began with concrete

garages, used a set-design

company to add facades

created a community of

work/sell spaces

price workshop units close

to the price of a studio

apartment or extra room

on an apartment

told artisans, jewelers,

sculptors, and leather

designers to put their work

in the windows to appeal

to the heavier foot traffic

on the weekends

it’s packed!


Multi-Use Public Destinations


Need a multi use destination


Characteristics of Great Public Spaces


• Good places breed healthy activity.

• People attract people attract people.

• When you focus on place, you do everything differently.

• It takes many disciplines and skills to create a place.

• It takes a community to create a place.

• Amenities that make a place comfortable are critical.

• You can’t know what you are going to end up with.

• Each place has its own identity.

• You can’t have anything less than excellence.

• You have to have zealous nuts.

• It has to be a…

It has to be a Campaign

Develop

a vision

Become great

communicators

Search for

impediments

Organize a

strong team

Attack

Complacency

Produce

short term

wins

Take on

bigger

challenges

Connect change

to the culture

of the

community

People Who Make Dramatic Change By John Kotter



www.pps.orgMaking Places

Newsletter

Training &

Conferences

Publications &

Resources

Qualities of Great Squares

Traffic, Transit & the Pedestrian

The Inner Park & the Outer Park

Attractions & Destinations

Identity & Image

Flexibility in Design

Amenities

Management: Central to the Solution

Seasonal Strategy

Diverse Funding Sources

Reach out like an octopus

Traffic, Transit & the Pedestrian

Connected to adjacent

areas

Range of

transportation options

The Inner & the Outer Square

Active edge uses

Gateways and

entrances

Focal points

Attractions & Destinations

Choices of things to do

Triangulation

opportunities

Clustered activity around

destinations

10+ places

Creating Great Civic Spaces

Identity & Image

Showcase local assets

District signage

Historic highlights


Flexible Design

Overlapping and

changing uses

Form that supports

function

Experiment

Management: Central to the Solution

Management

presence through:

Security &

Maintenance

Ongoing

improvements

Programming

Seasonal Strategies

Flower Show

Skating Rink

Fashion Show

Xmas Market

Antique Show

Play Equipment

Cultural Festivals


Diverse Funding Base

•Public support

•Private sponsorship

•Broad partnerships

Security --

City Funding

23%

Facility -

Parks

Department

6%

Event Rentals

18%

Tenant

Leases

24%

In Kind

Donations

17%

Event

Sponsorships

12%


Reach out like an Octopus

Becoming a

district

10+ Destinations

w/ 10+ places

10+ things to do

Amenities

Attracts cross-section of users

Source of local/regional civic pride

Comfortable places to sit

Food and markets

1. The community is the expert

2. You are creating a place not just a design

3. You can’t do it alone

4. They always say it can’t be done

5. You can see a lot just by observing

6. Develop a placemaking vision

7. Power of 10/Triangulation

8. Form supports function

9. Start with the petunias

10. Money is not the issue

11. You are never finished

11 Principles of Creating Great Public Spaces

Translating Ideas Into

Action

Implementation

Planning & Outreach

Techniques

Underlying Ideas

1. The community is the expert

2. You are creating a place not just a

design

3. You can’t do it alone

4. They always say it can’t be done


Underlying Ideas

Planning & Outreach

Techniques

5. You can see a lot just by observing

6. Develop a placemaking vision – Place

Performance Evaluation Game


Translating Ideas Into

Action

7. Form supports function

8. Power of 10/Triangulation


Implementation

9. Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper

10. Money is not the issue

11. You are never finished


Documents

What%20if%20we%20built%20our%20communities%20around%20spaces%20 %20project%20for%20public%20spaces%2