What We're About
PlacemakingUS is a national network organized to unleash community power to build living, interconnected places together. Through our “United Streets of America” program, we prioritize working with frontline communities that have been uprooted and looted by destructive urban planning, auto-oriented development, racist policies and unequal investment. Our network is fighting back by equipping communities across the country with a range of tools, experiences, funding and new relationships to regenerate their neighborhoods into complex, resilient systems transformed to face 21st century issues like climate change, isolation/polarization, economic inequity and public health.
Our Story
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Placemaking is a humanistic, multi-disciplined approach to urbanism promoted by the United Nations New Urban Agenda and deeply rooted in the studies and approaches of American thinkers and do-ers like Margaret Mead, Jane Jacobs, William White, Christopher Alexander (yeah, we're claimin' him), the Project for Public Spaces and many more since.
At the Project for Public Space's 2019 US Placemaking Week, Ethan Kent of PlacemakingX tasked Ryan Smolar with initiating a new placemaking network to cover the United States. |
"I am so inspired by our counterparts in Europe," said network initiator, Ryan Smolar.
"Placemaking Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia and other established placemaking networks have shown us the way, bringing many countries together for collaborative work and comradery." Interests piqued? Please reach out to Ryan as he will be working to bring representatives from all of the networks -- from Europe, Latin America, Asia and others. |
2020 Highlights Report
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Since Covid-19 struck in 2020, we quickly dashed our in-person plans for Placemaking Festivals in Portland, Long Beach and Philadelphia, and pivoted towards online interactions including webinars, international placemaking "tool tests," Zoom workgroups, in-person check-ins when safe, and we even commissioned a series of volunteer cross-country projects.
Facing an incredibly unique set of circumstances in our first full-year, we are excited to share the work that was done towards our goal of fostering a network to bring US-based placemakers together to spread innovations and support and share in the good work from across the country and around the globe. |
MEET THE TEAM
PlacemakingUS Leadership
We are collectively building PlaceamkingUS by connecting and sharing our talents, stories and resources.
Join us in collectively shaping and building PlacemakingUS:
GLOBAL COORDINATING PARTNER
PlacemakingX
REGIONAL COORDINATING PARTNERS
Placemaking Europe
Japan Tactical Urbanism & Placemaking Network
Placemaking LatinoAmerica
Placemaking Asia
Michigan Municipal League
Singapore Placemaking Network
US NETWORK PARTNERS
Placemaking Vermont Network
Placemaking SoFlo (South Florida)
Placemaking Raleigh
City Repair, Portland
PlacemakingSF
Long Beach Fresh, Southern California
DOMESTIC PRACTITIONERS/LEADERS HELPING US
Ryan Smolar, Downtown Santa Ana BID and Long Beach Fresh food policy council, Southern California & Portland, OR
Ethan Kent, Co-director of PlacemakingX, our global coordinating partner, New York
Josh Kent, Co-director of PlacemakingX, our global coordinating partner, New York
Nate Hommel, University City District, Philadelphia
Tina Govan, Placemaking Studio, Raleigh
Carmen Mays, Elevators on 4th, Birmingham
Candice Ji, M-Group
Kady Yellow, What's Up Downtown, Flint, Michigan
Jes Mcbride, YIMBY, Los Angeles
John Hyde, Zeppelin Development, Denver, Colorado
Nick Peterson, NYC DOT Bench and Plaza program (formerly), Missoula, Montana
Ian Litwin, city planner, Philadelphia
Scott Strawbridge, Public housing masterplanner and healthy, sustainble city advocate, South Florida
Madeleine Spencer, depth psychologist and public arts, culture, education & inclusive economics leader, Santa Ana, California
Leslie Mattie Rich, Westwood Works, Cincinatti
Adrianne Schaefer Borrego, Civic Space Collaborative, Portand OR and Boston MA
Hunter Franks, social practice artist, San Francisco
Jim Walker and Elizabeth Nash, Big Car social practice arts collective & neighborhood, Indianapolis
Mark Lakeman, Communitecture, Portland
Rebecca Sanborn Stone, Community Workshops LLC, Vermont
Greg Raisman and Richard Eisenhauser, Portland Bureau of Transportation
Alexandra Gonzalez, Hive Public Space architect and urban designer
Alan Pullman, Studio 111, architect and placemaker
Join us in collectively shaping and building PlacemakingUS:
GLOBAL COORDINATING PARTNER
PlacemakingX
REGIONAL COORDINATING PARTNERS
Placemaking Europe
Japan Tactical Urbanism & Placemaking Network
Placemaking LatinoAmerica
Placemaking Asia
Michigan Municipal League
Singapore Placemaking Network
US NETWORK PARTNERS
Placemaking Vermont Network
Placemaking SoFlo (South Florida)
Placemaking Raleigh
City Repair, Portland
PlacemakingSF
Long Beach Fresh, Southern California
DOMESTIC PRACTITIONERS/LEADERS HELPING US
Ryan Smolar, Downtown Santa Ana BID and Long Beach Fresh food policy council, Southern California & Portland, OR
Ethan Kent, Co-director of PlacemakingX, our global coordinating partner, New York
Josh Kent, Co-director of PlacemakingX, our global coordinating partner, New York
Nate Hommel, University City District, Philadelphia
Tina Govan, Placemaking Studio, Raleigh
Carmen Mays, Elevators on 4th, Birmingham
Candice Ji, M-Group
Kady Yellow, What's Up Downtown, Flint, Michigan
Jes Mcbride, YIMBY, Los Angeles
John Hyde, Zeppelin Development, Denver, Colorado
Nick Peterson, NYC DOT Bench and Plaza program (formerly), Missoula, Montana
Ian Litwin, city planner, Philadelphia
Scott Strawbridge, Public housing masterplanner and healthy, sustainble city advocate, South Florida
Madeleine Spencer, depth psychologist and public arts, culture, education & inclusive economics leader, Santa Ana, California
Leslie Mattie Rich, Westwood Works, Cincinatti
Adrianne Schaefer Borrego, Civic Space Collaborative, Portand OR and Boston MA
Hunter Franks, social practice artist, San Francisco
Jim Walker and Elizabeth Nash, Big Car social practice arts collective & neighborhood, Indianapolis
Mark Lakeman, Communitecture, Portland
Rebecca Sanborn Stone, Community Workshops LLC, Vermont
Greg Raisman and Richard Eisenhauser, Portland Bureau of Transportation
Alexandra Gonzalez, Hive Public Space architect and urban designer
Alan Pullman, Studio 111, architect and placemaker
JOIN THE TEAM
Become a PlacemakingUS Leader
PlacemakingUS is a voluntary PlacemakingX regional network inspired by our sister networks in Asia, Europe and Latin America.
If you would like to join us in helping jumpstart our nation's network, your participation could take a few different forms including:
Contact Network Leader Ryan Smolar to get started!
If you would like to join us in helping jumpstart our nation's network, your participation could take a few different forms including:
- Helping administer the main group's activities, communications, funding and strategy.
- Organizing your local state, city or sub-regional network for the national network to coordinate with (there are already local networks in San Francisco, Michigan, Vermont and a budding one in the Southeastern US!)
- Partner with us to produce an online webinar or content. See our Webinar Partnership Guide.
- Organizing a national topic workgroup around issues like Climate Change, Tool Testing, Publications/Reports or Inclusivity. See a full list of Europe's established workgroups here.
- Organizing a Placemaker Week or Placemaker Weekend, trainings or topic events in your area in coordination with PlacemakingUS, our international sister networks, and our global partner, PlacemakingX.
Contact Network Leader Ryan Smolar to get started!
