[Assets] - The Features That Elevate a Place

A great public place incorporates both amenities and assets. While amenities are functional and contribute to the experience of a place by making it more comfortable to be there, assets elevate the experience of a place by making it more pleasant and enjoyable. Amenities include things like benches for resting on, shade that keeps us cool, and bollards to create a separation between people and cars. On the other hand, assets include features that add beauty and pleasure to a space such as sculptures, decorations, and art. The best public places have both.

Too often, we overlook assets as unimportant because they don't have a clear function. Some people think that this means they don't add much value. That isn't true at all. Assets are what make a place pleasant to be in. They are what gives a place character, brings people joy, and keeps them coming back. Assets are therefore essential to great places.

The mix of amenities and assets is key because it creates multi-faceted value in a place. These features work together to make a place feel welcoming, comfortable, safe, fun, joyful, and memorable.

Examples of Assets

Sculptures

Sculptures are a great example of focal points – the central gathering point of a place that anchors it and gives it a unique identity. Sculptures often represent the history or values of the place they stand in, communicating something interesting and meaningful. They are the perfect place to meet with friends because they are prominent and can be seen from afar and they help us orient ourselves because they are recognizable landmarks.

Play sculptures are important features to any park or city square. These are sculpture that go beyond something to look at or admire, and provoke people to engage with them. All around the world there are sculptures in public spaces — but what we find truly special is when these sculptures invite play, climbing, or exploration.

Play Sculptures

Play-friendly sculptures can be a part of making someone’s visit to a park particularly memorable, whether that’s by bringing a beloved character to life, or offering a landscape for play unlike any other.

Social Life ProjectKathy Madden

Fountains

The presence of water is always a welcome addition to a place. Water contributes a sense of tranquility and is beautiful to look at. Its spray makes us feel refreshed and the fountains it spouts out of are often sculptures that beautify the place.

People love to dip their toes in water and children love nothing more than to run around in it. In this way, fountains attract people of all ages and become a kind of "watering hole" for community gathering.

Focal Points are Essential for Public Spaces

What a focal point is varies greatly from place to place. Sometimes it is as simple as a good spot to sit, a fountain, or a statue on which kids can play and climb. A great focal point attracts people and invites them to linger.

Social Life ProjectFred Kent

Murals

Art is a wonderful way to elevate a place. It is not only beautiful and awe-inspiring, but it reflects the local culture and residents, especially when it is created by local artists. Inviting the community to create art in public spaces helps them feel more invested and connected to them. It increases community pride and sense of ownership while also creating one-of-a kind places.

Other Kinds of Art

Public places can be treated like outdoor museums. Hanging photographs, prints or other kinds of artwork makes them feel like galleries and gives people another reason to visit and explore. This adds an additional layer of value to the place.

Ornamentation

Ornamentation in architecture or decorations added to a particular place make it interesting and beautiful to look at. Details grab people's attention, give them something to admire, and make their surroundings more pleasurable to be in.

Decorative lights

Lighting is essential to making a public place usable when the sun goes down by making it feel safe, comfortable, and welcoming. Lighting also offers a great opportunity to add beauty and visual appeal to a place by doubling as decoration and art. Christmas markets are a great example of how to do this and any place that wants to attract visitation during dark hours can follow their example year round.

Interesting signage

Anywhere you have shops or offerings, you need signs. But those signs don't have to be plain and boring. As with lighting, something functional like signage can become a beautiful asset for a place with a sprinkle of whimsy and creativity. Signs are a great way to communicate the personality of a place.

Flowers

Flowers are an easy and highly effective way to a beautify a place. They add so much vitality and vibrant color, bringing everything they touch to life. And because there are so many varieties of flowers depending on the region, they reflect the character of the place they grow in, making it uniquely attractive.

Adding assets of this sort to a place is the way to change it from a convenient spot into a beloved destination. It's what makes a place memorable, motivates people to take photos of it and rave about it to their friends, and gets them coming back again and again to experience joy and pleasure. Our places need a combination of amenities and assets to take them to the next level and get people frequenting them from morning to evening, year round.