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Streets as Places to Come Together: The Next Evolution for the Transportation Revolution
Streets

Streets as Places to Come Together: The Next Evolution for the Transportation Revolution

Getting our streets and sidewalks right means shifting our focus to the social life of our communities. Once community-led improvisation is a priority, we can take control of these spaces and make them active, inclusive, and just plain fun.

  • Ethan Kent
Ethan Kent May 11, 2022 • 15 min read
Porches: Where People's Lives Connect
Architecture of Place

Porches: Where People's Lives Connect

"Of Porches there are two sorts: the decorative and the useful, the porch that is only a platform and the porch you can lie around on in your pajamas and read the Sunday Paper" – Garrison Keillor

  • Fred Kent
  • Tina Govan
  • Kathy Madden
Multiple authors Apr 18, 2022 • 12 min read
What If We Planned Streets To Maximize Life?
Streets

What If We Planned Streets To Maximize Life?

Tweede Tuindwarsstraat, in the Jordaan District of Amsterdam, is a street that supports social life, drawing people to slow down and connect.

  • Ethan Kent
Ethan Kent Apr 11, 2022 • 8 min read
Learning from Valletta, Malta        A Treasured City on the Mediterranean
Great Public Spaces

Learning from Valletta, Malta A Treasured City on the Mediterranean

Valletta is a very dynamic and social place for locals and visitors. Its public spaces excel in ways from which every community can learn. It demonstrates the power of comfortable and well-connected gathering places in maintaining vibrant social life.

  • Fred Kent
  • Kathy Madden
Fred Kent, Kathy Madden Apr 2, 2022 • 9 min read
The Social Life of Space — Starting Extraterrestrial Planning With Spacemaking

The Social Life of Space — Starting Extraterrestrial Planning With Spacemaking

For everyone who enjoyed the isolation of the pandemic, the resurgence of social life is a bit of a rude awakening.

  • Katherine Peinhardt
Katherine Peinhardt Apr 1, 2022 • 2 min read
San Diego: A Waterfront Waiting to Happen Year, After Year, After Year
Community Discussion

San Diego: A Waterfront Waiting to Happen Year, After Year, After Year

San Diego's central waterfront could be one of the best waterfronts in the world. But it will take some work. The good news is that its transformation can be started immediately, with publicly owned land along the existing waterfront – from streets to under-used open spaces!

  • Kathy Madden
  • Fred Kent
  • Katherine Peinhardt
Multiple authors Mar 17, 2022 • 19 min read
Why Focal Points are Essential for Great Squares
Amenities

Why Focal Points are Essential for Great Squares

What a focal point is varies greatly with each square. Sometimes it is as simple as a good spot to sit, a fountain, or a statue on which kids can play and climb. The ones we are interested in are the ones that are swarming with people.

  • Fred Kent
  • Kathy Madden
Fred Kent, Kathy Madden Mar 9, 2022 • 14 min read
Balboa Park: San Diego's Global  Destination
Architecture of Place

Balboa Park: San Diego's Global Destination

Ever changing. Always amazing. Where culture, science, and nature collide, It is home to more than 16 museums, performing arts venues, gardens and other attractions, including the San Diego Zoo on 1,200 acres.

  • Kathy Madden
  • Katherine Peinhardt
  • Fred Kent
Multiple authors Mar 1, 2022 • 13 min read
The Little Bollard That Could...  Do a Lot
Amenities

The Little Bollard That Could... Do a Lot

A simple tool that can make any city more walkable and pleasurable

  • Fred Kent
  • Kathy Madden
  • Jay Walljasper
Multiple authors Feb 15, 2022 • 6 min read
The Best Sidewalk in North America
Sidewalks

The Best Sidewalk in North America

Sidewalks are the foundation to making the social life of communities thrive. The best sidewalks share certain traits that make them welcoming, accessible, and socially active places.

  • Kathy Madden
  • Fred Kent
Kathy Madden, Fred Kent Feb 7, 2022 • 9 min read
Who Owns the Intersection Defines the Social Life of  Neighborhoods
Sidewalks

Who Owns the Intersection Defines the Social Life of Neighborhoods

You can tell a great city by its corners. If the intersection is owned by the vehicles, it is a city for cars and traffic. If the community controls the intersections/corners, it is a city of neighborhoods.

  • Fred Kent
  • Kathy Madden
  • Steve Davies
  • Katherine Peinhardt
Multiple authors Jan 31, 2022 • 14 min read
A Great Street: Buenos Aires' Calle La Defensa
Streets

A Great Street: Buenos Aires' Calle La Defensa

Buenos Aires' Calle La Defensa is a memorable street any day—but especially on Sundays, when crowds gather to walk, shop, dance, eat and have fun interacting with the street performers.

  • Fred Kent
  • Kathy Madden
Fred Kent, Kathy Madden Jan 24, 2022 • 9 min read
Two Buildings that Build Life:  Fostering Sidewalk Social Life in Brooklyn and Paris
Sidewalks

Two Buildings that Build Life: Fostering Sidewalk Social Life in Brooklyn and Paris

A building needs a base, At the street level, buildings with small shops that spill into the public space that has a plaza with a market or double-loaded sidewalk, buildings can come alive. What is outside becomes inside, and what is inside becomes outside.

  • Fred Kent
  • Kathy Madden
  • Steve Davies
Multiple authors Jan 18, 2022 • 12 min read
Community Discussion: Creating the Heart of Brooklyn — Brooklyn Borough Hall, Court House, Cadman Plaza down to Fulton Landing
Architecture of Place

Community Discussion: Creating the Heart of Brooklyn — Brooklyn Borough Hall, Court House, Cadman Plaza down to Fulton Landing

Few would argue with the statement that Brooklyn Borough Hall, Court House, and Cadman Plaza may be the most underperforming public spaces in New York City. Their potential is enormous.

  • Kathy Madden
  • Fred Kent
Kathy Madden, Fred Kent Jan 12, 2022 • 13 min read
Social Life, How Can it Help Shape the Future of our Communities?
Top Ideas

Social Life, How Can it Help Shape the Future of our Communities?

With people today longing to bond again with friends and family, it is becoming clearer that the foundation of our happiness and fulfillment is a rich social life. Reflections of Jay Walljasper.

  • Jay Walljasper
Jay Walljasper Jan 4, 2022 • 6 min read
The Magic of Holiday Markets
Public Markets

The Magic of Holiday Markets

As you look at the best markets around the world, they are dynamic year-round destinations in the center for most cities. Bryant Park and Victualen Market in New York City and Munich are prime examples.

  • Fred Kent
  • Steve Davies
  • Kathy Madden
Multiple authors Dec 17, 2021 • 10 min read
Remembering Don Miles

Remembering Don Miles

Don Miles was a long-time friend of ours and a founding board member of Project for Public Spaces in 1975. He passed away in Seattle on December 2, 2021.

  • Ethan Kent
  • Steve Davies
  • Kathy Madden
  • Josh Kent
  • Fred Kent
Multiple authors Dec 16, 2021 • 3 min read
Seven Catalytic Placemaking Strategies: A Discussion about the Future of Vermont Downtowns
Community Discussion

Seven Catalytic Placemaking Strategies: A Discussion about the Future of Vermont Downtowns

Restoring social life in Vermont starts with a rethinking of streets, public spaces and community institutions

  • Fred Kent
  • Kathy Madden
  • Amy Tomasso
Multiple authors Dec 3, 2021 • 36 min read
Discussion: Next Steps for the Global Placemaking Movement
Top Ideas

Discussion: Next Steps for the Global Placemaking Movement

Imagine if the places where we live were shaped for, and from, our social lives, re-imagined to make it easy for us to gather, shop, have fun, eat together, and be around people different from us. we would collectively have an impact on the health of our planet.

  • Fred Kent
  • Steve Davies
  • Ethan Kent
  • Katherine Peinhardt
  • Kathy Madden
Multiple authors Nov 22, 2021 • 9 min read
Havana's Resilient Social Life - Cuban Public Spaces Over the Years

Havana's Resilient Social Life - Cuban Public Spaces Over the Years

With improving diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US, the country’s public space, and public life, is poised to evolve in new directions, for better and worse.

  • Ethan Kent
  • Madeley Rodriguez
Ethan Kent, Madeley Rodriguez Nov 16, 2021 • 12 min read
Have a Seat? How Seating Shapes Welcoming Cities
Amenities

Have a Seat? How Seating Shapes Welcoming Cities

Benches and seating are not objects; they are mirrors to our social behavior. We have seen it time and again, that where there is seating, there is life.

  • Kathy Madden
  • Fred Kent
  • Katherine Peinhardt
Multiple authors Nov 8, 2021 • 15 min read
Time-Honored Places: The Public Square
Great Public Spaces

Time-Honored Places: The Public Square

Public Spaces as squares are plazas in Spain, Latin America, and sometimes the U.S., piazzas in Italy, platz in German-speaking countries, and simply "square" everywhere in between. In many small towns they have the Village Green. In essence they are the main gathering places for people.

  • Fred Kent
  • Kathy Madden
Fred Kent, Kathy Madden Oct 27, 2021 • 19 min read
Discussion - Brooklyn Promenade Social Seating and Cafe/Kiosk
Waterfronts

Discussion - Brooklyn Promenade Social Seating and Cafe/Kiosk

The entire promenade is very stark and not very inviting except for the extraordinary view. By initially just adding a few items to experiment with, the community could see what might be possible in the future

  • Fred Kent
  • Kathy Madden
Fred Kent, Kathy Madden Oct 16, 2021 • 7 min read
You are where you sit: Zurich shows us how
Amenities

You are where you sit: Zurich shows us how

People thrive in place that reflect their personality and where they can be seen in ways that others understand something about who they are. Different people need different settings. Diversity of seating is a basic need and varies for each place.

  • Fred Kent
  • Kathy Madden
Fred Kent, Kathy Madden Oct 14, 2021 • 6 min read
Vancouver Community Discussion: Has Vancouver lost its Soul? Can they Create the Waterfront they Deserve?
Architecture of Place

Vancouver Community Discussion: Has Vancouver lost its Soul? Can they Create the Waterfront they Deserve?

Vancouver is no longer a small city along the west coast of North America. It has the highest population density in Canada. Two questions: Has it lost its soul? Can it create the great waterfront a great city deserves?

  • Fred Kent
  • Kathy Madden
Fred Kent, Kathy Madden Oct 5, 2021 • 18 min read
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