A guide for placemaking based on almost 40 years experience in
40 countries By Project for Public Spaces (Photo by Melissa Wall
under a Creative Commons license from flickr.com) 1. The
Community Is the Expert Tapping into the ideas and talents of a
community – inviting people into the process who have an
interest or stake in a particular place, such as those who live
or work there — is crucial in deciding how to develop or improve
a place. 2. You Are Creating a Place, Not Just a Design Creating
a place entails a broader view that goes beyond design; a
successful public space possesses four key attributes:
accessibility, activities, comfort, and sociability. 3. You
Can’t Do It Alone A good public space requires more resources
and expertise than any one individual or organization can offer.
4. They Always Say “It Can’t Be Done” When an idea stretches
beyond the reach of an organization and and someone says, “It
can’t be done,” what that usually means is, “We’ve never done
things that way before.” 5. You Can See