International Placemaking Week 2024

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Four years ago the Project for Public Spaces (@PPS_Placemaking) started the International Placemaking Week conference. In that short period of time, the event has grown. This first week of June they are expecting over 400 “public space leaders” to descend on Baltimore for this year’s conference. Seeing some of Project for Public Spaces’ other training opportunities, this conference should be very educational.

But for those who can’t attend, including me, it’s a good week to work on placemaking in your community. It’s a good time to take a look at your community’s gathering spaces through another lens.

Band in Downtown Garage – Coon Rapids, Iowa

Read Up on Placemaking

Rural Resurrection has provided a few posts over the years on placemaking as it is an important aspect that can affect tourism, resident/business attraction, and overall resident happiness and retention. Some of these posts are:

For some further reading check out these posts about placemaking in small towns from the Project for Public Spaces:

South Federal Ave, Mason City

Get Some Ideas Brewing

So many communities have worked to make better places for residents and visitors over the years. There are MANY great ideas out there and more great places being made every day. A simple Google search of key terms like “placemaking”, “mini parks”, “unique park seats”, or “downtown lighting” can start you down the “rabbit hole”. Pretty soon you’ve spent hours looking at all the different creative ideas that have been made to create a better place.

There’s even Pinterest (below) if you want to start saving some of those ideas for a rainy day.

Whatever your source of images, start perusing for ideas for your own community. International Placemaking Week is a great time to start!