PlacemakingX

In coordination with @placemaking-canada.bsky.social we are pleased to share a draft report of the 2nd #GlobalPlacemakingSummit: www.placemakingx.org/summit25

Metropolitan Washington Place Leadership Summit Join us in DC this Friday: www.eventbrite.com/e/metropolit... #PlacemakingDC #PlaceLeadership #PlaceManagement

The Only Good Corner in Midtown: How and Why Bryant Park's NW Corner Stands Out www.sociallifeproject.org/the-only-goo... by Fred Kent & @drtpanova.bsky.social #PlacemakingNYC @placemakingx.bsky.social @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social

Leaders in #PlaceLedDevelopment converged in NYC for a Forum hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to explore how to advance the emerging field, and attract investment in to #placemaking that supports #development and development that supports placemaking.

"...what anchors a good downtown is a public space that supports informal activity. A lot of money is often spent on programming and putting on events and activities, but the more informal life can be, the more serendipitous, & social, & human scaled, & organic, the better." @ethankent.bsky.social

Supporting #busking will draw out the soul of a city, and celebrate the creativity and culture of the local community. My conversation with #BuskingProject:

If you’re interested in adding some podcasts on #placemaking to your queue, we’ve compiled some good ones here, covering a broad range of topics and audiences, with several @placemakingx.bsky.social leaders: open.spotify.com/playlist/3qt...

Grateful for recommendations and connections from the Placemaking Poland, Placemaking Europe and @placemakingx.bsky.social networks.

Some highlight pics from a beautiful post #PlacemakingWeekEurope tour of Gdansk, including a bike tour to Sopot and Gdynia. Fun to tour with @tjhfx.bsky.social of @placemaking-canada.bsky.social. #PlacemakingPoland #PlacemakingEurope

Plants vs. Place: Leveraging Landscaping for Better Public Spaces From Plantings That Privatize to Landscaping That Supports Public Life www.sociallifeproject.org/plants-vs-pl... By Fred Kent & @drtpanova.bsky.social

Discussion of how the placemaking movement is evovling to #PlaceLedDevelopment, and ulitmately towards a Place movement: open.spotify.com/episode/6Cv9... @placemakingx.bsky.social

Privatization of public spaces through planting and landscape architecture is unfortunately a threat to growing public use & investment. To drive more demand for greening, human use, investment, maintenance & management of the public realm we need to keep optimizing its use for human outcomes.

Thank you Mirette Khorshed and Dhanya Rajagopal of Placemaking Poland for generously touring me and @tjhfx.bsky.social of @placemaking-canada.bsky.social around. And amazing to bump into Lu Alicia Lin, thanks to her Placemaking Europe tote bag! @placemakingx.bsky.social

Highlights from a quick visit to Warsaw, Poland after #PlacemakingWeekEurope. Visits to several Polish cities have inspired me to try to learn more about Poland's successful development model through public realm investment. #PlacemakingPoland #PlacemakingEurope #Placemaking #UrbanDesign

"One of the bravest, boldest things that humans do is to perform right at the centre of a community. That vulnerability melts away the barriers that exist in society. The buskers that thrive are the ones that contribute most to shared experience, to happiness and connection."

On National Seniors Day, we’re reflecting on the importance of communities that support people to age with dignity, independence, & connection — with comfortable places to sit, accessible streets & public spaces, safe crossings, nearby amenities, and opportunities for meaningful social connections.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to meet up with me during my wander through Poland and the Baltics … Igor and Gillian (Warsaw), Artis (Riga), Andrė and Sabina (Vilnius), Kristi, Andro, Mathias, Pasi, Eugen, Aleksi and others (Tallinn) and TJ, Ethan and others (Wroclaw).

Are we going to start seeing more Canada-Europe exchange and collaboration on urban issues? Toronto sharing the stage with Vilnius, Kiev, Rotterdam and The Hague at Placemaking Week Europe 2026 (Wrocław, Poland).

Poland has been a model country for leading it's development through public realm infrastructire investment. It's growing momentum with #PlacemakingPoland builds on this nicely. A great host for #PlacemakingWeekEurope!

700 #placemakers gathered from 40 countries for the 1st #PlacemakingWeekEurope in Poland. Thanks #PlacemakingPoland and #PlacemakingEurope for masterfully hosting. @placemaking-canada.bsky.social

Grateful for the leadership and collaboration of @carlosmorenofr.bsky.social on public space and his support of placemaking networks around the world. Proximity and place are powerful partners! @sociallifeproject.bsky.social @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social

On my way to #PlacemaingWeekEurope for the annual festival of learning, advocacy and action, in Wroclaw, Poland. Reporting from the #GlobalPlacemakingSummit and on #PlaceLedDevelopment with many partners from @placemakingx.bsky.social , @placemaking-canada.bsky.social, & other placemakingx networks.

Celebrating the launch of Place and Placemaking (Routledge, 2026) in NYC at the AIA NY Center for Architecture, Sept. 17th, 6pm-7:30: calendar.aiany.org/2026/09/17/b... @placemakingx.bsky.social @sociallifeproject.bsky.social

Vendedores ambulantes e mercados públicos podem impulsionar cidades prósperas e inclusivas Os espaços públicos precisam de todo o espectro de atividades comerciais, das informais às formais. caosplanejado.com/vendedores-a... @caosplanejado.bsky.social @sociallifeproject.bsky.social

The Importance of Programming - 20+ Ideas to Activate Public Places www.sociallifeproject.org/the-importan... by @drtpanova.bsky.social #Placemaking #PublicSpace

Join us to celebrate the launch of the new book Place and Placemaking (Routledge, 2026) in NYC at the AIA NY Center for Architecture, Sept. 17th, 6-7:30pm: calendar.aiany.org/2026/09/17/b... With @lohplaces.bsky.social #PlacemakingNYC #Placemaking @placemakingx.bsky.social

New #placemaking podcast supporting the #PlacemakingUS conversation and community. Launched discussing our emerging @placemakingx.bsky.social focus on #PlaceLedDevelopment: youtu.be/Y9xgCehE0Rs?... @sociallifeproject.bsky.social

Seeing many pedestrian streets fail in the 70s led @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social to look at leading transportation planning with life and use, rather simply removing cars. The approach we developed: www.sociallifeproject.org/streets_as_p... @placemaking-canada.bsky.social @placemakingx.bsky.social

Car-free streets are not synonymous with culturally rich streets. Removing cars creates possibility, but it does not automatically create a vibrant place. A truly vibrant public space is not only defined by what is absent; it is defined by what is present—who and what is able to flourish there.

This June, Project for Public Spaces and co-host @downtowndet welcomed a sold-out crowd of 642 placemakers from 177 cities and 12 countries to Detroit for the 5th International #PlacemakingWeek! See the full Conference Report. → www.placemakingweek.org/26/report

The amazing POWER OF 10! It can be simple & powerful tool to create better communities, by Fred Kent, Tayana Panova. Decades ago I learned from Fred that each city should have 10+ major destinations, and each 10+ places, and each 10+ things to do... Read: bit.ly/4xfkDLL

Unpacking this quote by our Fred Kent: www.sociallifeproject.org/streets_as_p... @placemakingx.bsky.social @ethankent.bsky.social

Remember, if you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan cities for people and places, you get people and places. Via Fred Kent & @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social. #UrbanTruth

Highlighting Natural Assets in the City - How Asian Waterways Shine A look at how Seoul and Kyoto beautifully weave nature into the urban fabric through their waterways www.sociallifeproject.org/how-asian-wa... by @drtpanova.bsky.social

Unpacking this famous quote by our Fred Kent: www.sociallifeproject.org/streets_as_p... @placemakingx.bsky.social @ethankent.bsky.social

Before founding Social Life Project & @placemakingx.bsky.social in 2018, Fred Kent founded @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social in 1975, & led it for 43 years, developing & applying placemaking principles & tools. The Power 10 shows us how cities can be transformed through clustering of small activities.

"We're creating houses and spaces, rather than homes and places. It's a mechanistic worldview instead of a human one." From my conversation with Shawn Duncan on his podcast Places People Change about #PlaceAttachement: places-people-change.ghost.io/belonging-as... #Placemaking

"To make parks places where all kinds of people want to be, from morning to evening, weekday to weekend, they have to offer more than just grass and trees. They have to offer joy and pleasure." (www.sociallifeproject.org/from-passive...)

Gazebos, Bandstands, and Other Shade Structures - The Best Focal Points for Public Places? www.sociallifeproject.org/gazebos-band... by Fred Kent and @drtpanova.bsky.social #Placemaking #Gazebos #Bandstands #Shade #UrbanDesign

Turning the shaping of communities & cities upside-down to start with the social life of public spaces is what we're all about! Our Fred Kent developed the Power of 10 #Placemaking concept to apply this idea at all scales: www.sociallifeproject.org/the-power-of...

Very helpful discussion, and relevant to our work with PlacemakingUS & @PlacemakingX to network, check, & evolve the placemaking conversation. Each part of the world defines placemaking from different strengths, disciplines, & sectors, & needs their definitions to be checked, balanced and broadened.

We partnered w/ @maxmusicant.bsky.social of The Musicant Group & Shina Shayesteh to survey practitioners on how the term “#placemaking” affects the work of improving public spaces. Respondents reported experiencing all three pitfalls of the term. See the full breakdown: www.pps.org/article/what...

Inspiring to be sharing and learning with an extraordinary community of luminaries. Like @carlosmorenofr.bsky.social @majoracarter.bsky.social @regenhes.bsky.social and many more.

Join us for a discussion on #RegenerativePlacemaking at the #GenerationRegenerationSummit - a free, virtual summit hosted by Tony Cho and Future of Cities: generationregenerationsummit.com/live/ With @ethankent.bsky.social @majoracarter.bsky.social @regenhes.bsky.social and many more!

“Leading with #lovability and #placeattachment actually helps achieve livability more quickly, more affordably, and more inclusively." #Placemaking

How Small Buildings Can Seed Vitality in Public Places www.sociallifeproject.org/small-buildi... by Fred Kent and @drtpanova.bsky.social @placemakingx.bsky.social @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social

Happy Canada Day 159+, everyone! Today we celebrate the amazing places found from coast to coast to coast…

Summary of the placemaking work we did at @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social to help catalyze the transformation of #DowntownDetroit and the global Placemaking movement: www.sociallifeproject.org/the-transfor...

“If democracy is letting the people decide, then Placemaking is one of the most powerful tools we have.” @mitchellsilver.bsky.social former @nycparks.bsky.social commissioner and current @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social board member. #PlacemakingWeek