PlacemakingUS

Spending time abroad always sharpens my understanding of the U.S., not by what I see elsewhere but by what we lack here. On recent adventures in Türkiye and Morocco, I was struck by the omnipresence of public pets, especially cats. These furry residents roam freely through cafes, streets, and markets, creating moments of unplanned connection that humanize the urban experience. In Izmir, during a talk I gave, a cat casually strolled onto the dais, nuzzled the microphone, and stole the show. In Essaouira, a kitten lounged in the middle of a bustling market, and rather than shoo it away, people adjusted their steps. These scenes were more than charming—they revealed a shared rhythm between humans and animals, a dynamic largely absent in U.S. cities. Why? It’s not just about cats. It’s about urban design, cultural values, and what we choose to prioritize. In Türkiye and Morocco, human-scale streets and community-centered traditions allow for these moments of coexistence. By contrast, the U.S. seems obsessed with control, cleanliness, and car-dominated infrastructure, erasing opportunities for serendipity and connection. Even when animals are reintroduced to urban life in the U.S., it’s often through commodified spaces like cat cafés. What other cultures offer as a free, public joy, we package and sell. Reflecting on this contrast makes me question what we've sanitized out of our lives in the name of order. Is our aversion to street animals symbolic of a deeper discomfort with the messiness—and humanity—of shared urban life? By embracing, not erasing, these interactions, we might rediscover the warmth, connection, and life that make cities more than machines—they make them homes. What do you think? How do public spaces where you live support—or suppress—connection? Read More: https://lnkd.in/gdK6t3Jx #placemaking #publicpets #catcities #publicpolicy #sociallife #Morocco #Istanbul

#Place-based projects require a different mindset, process and #projectmanagement techniques. Project management methods and templates are generally designed for and well-suited to capital works and infrastructure-focused projects. But, these approaches don't always work well in more social, complex and fluid situations, such as #neighborhood improvement, #economic development, #placemaking and community building. Think of the conventional approach to project planning and management as like a train travelling along a rail track. It typically: 🎯 Identifies the desired project outcome, target or destination at the start 🚆 Establishes a clear process and timelines to get to the target 🖊️ Measures progress against the plan, timelines and budget There are some benefits to this approach, particularly given how well established and known it is. It is business as usual. The challenges when applied in neighbourhoods and #communities are: 📏 The process is linear and inflexible. Whilst changes are possible to the steps or the process, the desired outcomes or targets are much more difficult to change if they have been approved upfront by decision-makers 🤔 The project scoping and planning needs to rely on assumptions, particularly that the desired target and outcomes shouldn't or won’t change 🛤️ It can be 'de-railed', sometimes because external stakeholders are suspicious of the motives or desired targets and push back or lobby against them 🌴 The ‘destination’ is often a little hazy or intangible when you are first planning the project. It can become clearer as the process progresses, but it might be too late to change the project target or process by this stage You might get to the end of the project (getting off at the "station"), but realise it is the wrong time, place or outcome. The whole process might have failed because of the pre-determined and inflexible target! There must be a better way! We think there is a viable alternative for #neighborhood improvement, #economic development, #placemaking and community building processes. Our 'How to lead successful place-based projects' explains how it can be done. It is designed for busy professionals working on placemaking, economic development, community building, landscape design, urban planning, activation or place improvement activities. It's only AUD$95 / USD$62 / Euro59 and takes about 90-120 minutes to complete online at your own pace. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/gHbsdXzu Town Team Movement PlacemakingX Seth Kaplan Placemaking Europe PlacemakingUS Placemaking Sweden Place Collective UK Institute of Place Management The Urban Mycelium Ryan Smolar Rik Adamski Chris Wade FIPM Ulf Andersson Patrycja Rosinska Emma Snow Cate Baker Alice Goldsmith Ryan Reynolds

It’s a small world, especially when you get to participate in a #WorldUrbanForum with 37,000 urban leaders from 182 counties working to improve our collective cities and places. It is was a great pleasure to get to gather with 50+ PlacemakingX leaders from 12 of our 30 networks, and to present on 7 different sessions of #WUF12. While national leadership in the US, and around the world, may be moving towards a culture of “place taking,” people working closer to the ground are increasingly embracing a culture of #placemaking. Connecting and supporting these people will insure and enable a thriving future. Some personal highlights from an epic week:

Hey friends, spread the word: The Congress for the New Urbanism is hiring! We are looking for a passionate, action-oriented individual to fill the role of Director of Engagement here at CNU. The right candidate will be ready to play a vital part in expanding the New Urbanist movement and in activating the urban change that will lead to more walkable, sustainable, equitable cities and towns. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eBFB_ybe

At PlacemakingUS, our bread and butter is connecting placemakers across the country. But, we really love opportunities to get hands-on and craft beautiful community-engaged works with local partners. We're over the moon for this traditional tortilla-griddle project at a historic public property in Southern California that was born out of our Placemaking Week Oaxaca event earlier this year. If you want to collaborate with PlacemakingUS on a local project, we'd love to talk.

Reflections on how the US Placemaking movement can survive and thrive during the next administration.

Congestion pricing is now moving forward in NYC! As it happens we’ve just published an article on why it is needed and how this opportunity can be leveraged for greater public space and placemaking goals: https://lnkd.in/eHg3D2tG by Fred Kent, Kathy Madden, Tayana Panova, PhD and Ethan Kent #PlacemakingNYC #CongestionPricing #NYCStreets

How MAGA Could Be Helping to Bring About the Future They Most Fear(But Shouldn’t) My personal processing of another surprising election outcome, and how we can make it be for the best. While I’ve been lucky to work in communities in almost all US states(and over 60 countries), of all political stripes and sizes, I did not for a moment see the possibility of Trump and his movement succeeding in 2016. The morning we learned he had first been elected, I was in North Carolina keynoting an annual meeting for Downton Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Clinton had been up 7 percentage points in the polls just before the election, but ended up losing by 3.6 points. All of us at the event of hundreds of city leaders seemed dumfounded and in shock. During this election I was at the 12th World Urban Forum, in Cairo, with 37,000 urban leaders from 182 countries. Both times, but even more clearly this time, I was lucky to see that the people leading the world, and doing it together, are local. Public spaces, and the people that protect and improve them, transcend borders and politics, and reflect all stripes of humanity. Now is the time for us to lead!

Some highlights from our speaking at seven sessions of the #WorldUrbanForum on a broad variety of #publicspace and #placemaking agendas, in collaboration with dozens of  #PlacemakingX leaders and UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) collaborators . #WUF12 #UrbanDevelopment #Cities

50+ PlacemakingX leaders participated in the World Urban Forum in Cairo, Egypt this past week. Among dozens of sessions we all spoke spoke at, we organized a networking session that featured many regional and placemaking network leaders, as well as some agenda leaders. The packed program of our event on November 7th, 17:00-18:30: Welcome and Intro Ethan Kent, Executive Director of PlacemakingX Panel 1: Regional Placemaking Networks Lobna A. Mostafa, Ph.D. - Amaken Placemaking Ayanda Roji - Placemaking Africa/Centre on African Public Spaces Centre on African Public Spaces Mariana Alegre Escorza - #placemakinglatinoamerica Vivian Doumpa - Placemaking Europe Panel 2: National Placemaking Networks Niharika Mathema - #placemakingnepal Tharaa Kirresh - #PlacemakingForPalestinians Ryan Smolar - PlacemakingUS Phaeba Abraham - Placemaking India Luciana Renner - Fundación Placemaking México Fredrik Lindstål - Placemaking Sweden Adriana Sansão Fontes - Placemaking Brasil Panel 3: Placemaking Global Agenda Leaders Moderator - Guillermo Bernal, PlacemakingX, The Place Institute, Fundación #PlacemakingMexico Nourhan Bassam - #PlacemakingForWomen The Gendered City Steve Davies - Placemaking for Markets/ #MarketCities Project for Public Spaces Viviana Cordero - #PlacemakingForChildren and Youth Huasipichanga Carmen Mays, MPA - Placemaking for Restoration #WUF12 #WorldUrbanForum #UrbanDevelopment #PublicSpace #UrbanPlanning #UrbanDesign #PlacemakingX