The concept of placemaking and the role of governments and organisations:
Placemaking = an approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. It
aims to be creative and collaborative, producing sustainable places which meet the
communities needs and improve quality of life.
It is an important way for the government to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) from
TNCs.
How architects and planners attempt to create meaningful and authentic places:
Design of individual buildings significantly impacts placemaking.
‘An efficient planning system and a good spatial plan are essential to achieving high-quality
places and good design’ – Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, 2009.
UK local authorities develop a Local Plan which is a strategy for new building and
developments under the guidance of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
‘Third Spaces’ = Celebrated by urban theorists as a critical part of developing place
attachment which occurs in public spaces, not corporate or domestic domains. They are
places of social and community gathering that allows the interaction of diverse groups.
‘Social Capital’ = The trust of a city street creates a web of public respect between people of
different identities.
Current placemakers have to address challenges of rising obesity rates, shrinking cities and
climate change by empowering communities to address these problems on an ongoing
basis.
24-hour city = This idea can be found worldwide with many cities in EDCs and LIDCs, such as
Cairo and Mumbai, having long histories of being cities that never sleep. Large urban places
can be transformed depending on the time of day. Planners and architects are developing
ideas to support this, such as London night bus routes. Increasingly places such as gyms are
remaining open overnight. Common perception is that central places are deserted,
threatening and unsafe at night, though rebranding aims to alter this.
How local community groups shape the place they live in:
Considerable influence in shaping places.
Resident’s associations concerned with housing, community and environmental matters
important at a local scale. They are often most active where a distinctive place has become
part of a larger urban settlement.
Heritage associations are active in placemaking when there is a distinguishing character
based on the survival of past characteristics, such as architecture. Most are nongovernmental and range from national (National Trust) to local.
Digital placemaking is increasingly playing a role in place evolution as social media becomes
more integrated in our lives. It is used to encourage public participation and collaboration in
planning for land-use in local neighbourhoods. One concept is the ‘Power of 10+’, suggesting
places thrive when people who use them have 10+ reasons to be out and about in that
place. Social media allows individuals to share their reasons such as in Baltimore, USA where
an online crowdsourcing application was used to allow locals to identify significant open
spaces in the city.