The Pop-Up Placemaking Tool Kit

There’s a placemaking tool kit available to those who are working on such initiatives in their communities. Interestingly enough, the source for this tool kit is not an organization that you would typically initially think of when considering placemaking. The American Association of Retired Persons. Yes, AARP has published a tool kit on placemaking and it is quite a viable source of information.

When you take a few minutes to think about it, the concept makes sense. The retired sector of the population is more likely to have the time to enjoy public spaces designed with good placemaking principles. Retired individuals may also be involved in grassroots efforts to improve these public spaces as well.

To make this informative booklet, AARP teamed up with Team Better Block, a transportation and placemaking-focused public outreach firm with a wealth of experience in the field. As the AARP website states, the Tool Kit:

“…can help elected officials, planners, policymakers and involved residents use temporary projects to improve communities for people of all ages.”

A Recipe for Success

The Pop-Up Placemaking Tool Kit is actually a recipe book for temporary placemaking projects. It is broken up into Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced “Recipes” to choose from when deciding what placemaking projects your community wants to undertake.

Check out the recipes from their Tool Kit through the links below:

• Beginner Recipes
• Intermediate Recipes
• Advanced Recipes
• Recipes for Parklets and Bike Lanes

The full Tool Kit booklet can be downloaded through the link below.

AARP Placemaking Tool Kit

One of the projects listed within the “Beginner Recipies” section of the Tool Kit was Signage. What they showed was a simple painted sign on the sidewalk that provides a simple, cheap version of wayfinding signage.

I’ve talked about signage as a way to implement a brand. But not all signage in a community needs to have a design that relates back to the brand. Creative wayfinding signage can be fund and informational at the same time. Even if it doesn’t communicate the community’s brand, it can be effective and a fun placemaking exercise for the community.

So check out the AARP Placemaking Tool Kit now for some great temporary placemaking ideas for your community.