What is a “Place” and Why a “Place” Matters
The Background of “Placemaking.”
The concept behind “placemaking” originated in the 1950s-1960s. Jane Jacob and William Whyte pushed the revolutionary idea of “making city spaces designed by people” and challenged the authorities for their top-down planning approach.
But the term placemaking was not coined until forty years ago by Fred Kent, the founder of the Project for Public Spaces (PPS). As this organization claimed, placemaking is about “public space.” At its core, it focuses on the “process” of civic engagement, a bottom-up planning approach, building partnerships, and empowering local communities. “It can be privately owned, but the place is accessible to anyone,” says Mary W. Rowe, Senior Fellow with PPS.
The WHY Behind Emphasizing “Places.”
The impression that “placemaking” is equivalent to bold-image murals, colorful streets, or hosting temporary events in any in-between urban spaces is widely-spread.
It is not hard to imagine why the public audience has such a vague understanding but vivid memory of “placemaking.” Though “a picture says a thousand words,” after all, it is difficult to describe a “process” through photos you might have seen in a town-hall presentation.
