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.
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.
When it comes to addressing climate change in a way that actually moves the needle, the creativity and community-orientation that always defined the global Placemaking movement can be the foundation for the future of communities everywhere--and for our planet.
These transformative agendas can be a foundation for the future and a roadmap for communities to improve the "places" and after COVID, Build Back Better that can help us with ideas to shape our communities for the future.
we found and learned from some truly wonderful examples of small-town social life, and it is these glimmers of hope that can lay the foundation for new attention to public spaces in smaller communities.
The problems we face are global in scale. Yet the most effective solutions can be found on the local level. The frontlines for social change today are in neighborhoods, villages, towns and cities.
Paradigm-shattering change will happen when streets, sidewalks and intersections are transformed into community gathering spots through the simple act of giving human beings priority over motor vehicles.
Thresholds where storefronts and buildings connect with the sidewalk —is the place to reunite communities and jump-start local economies after these long, hard months.
A social hub is by nature community led. It is local, even hyper-local. It can ripple out from a single enterprise on a block, spread to others, and evolve organically
Creating the Heart of Brooklyn in Borough Hall and Cadman Plaza...three immediate, Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper, activation strategies to make it happen right away.
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.
"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
Tweede Tuindwarsstraat, in the Jordaan District of Amsterdam, is a street that supports social life, drawing people to slow down and connect.
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.
