The Democratized Economy: Big Boxes, Urban Centers, and Placemaking
The Democratized Economy is an economy in which there are many small-scale owners of the means of production with local or regional influence.
Placemaking
“It All Turns on Affection”
Boomers, he said, are “those who pillage and run,” who want “to make a killing and end up on Easy Street,” whereas stickers are “those who settle, and love the life they have made and the place they have made it in.”
Equity and Inclusion: Getting Down to the Heart of Placemaking
Placemaking, a collaborative process by which we (residents, architects, activists, community leaders and planners alike) shape our public realm together, is fundamentally about inclusion and shared community ownership.
The End of the Extraction Economy
Big box retailers have been a major player in this economy and built-environment.
Black Lives and the (Broken) Promise of Public Space
The promise of our public spaces is the assurance that we can live well together, creating places that we can all enjoy and call our own.
Trama: Netweaving and Collaboration in Rio de Janeiro
In late 2014 a design project at PUC-Rio university led five students to the street in Rio de Janeiro to restore an idle square by opening it for people collaboration and creativity.
History as a Commons
We spoke about the importance of looking at the social, political and ecological elements of history, how history belongs not in dusty old shelves, but as a part of our everyday lives…
The Place Game: How We Make the Community the Expert
The Place Game is a tool for evaluating any public space—a park, a square, a market, a street, even a street corner—and examining it through guided observation strategies.
Urban Health Centers: Tear Down This Wall
The health care industry’s impact on cities and regions—through job creation, purchasing, and real estate development—has gained increasing attention in recent years, and for good reason…
Building Community, One Bench at a Time
Can putting a bench on the sidewalk create community? Can it change the world?
City Repair: From Illegal Street Painting to City-Sanctioned Placemaking
We’re part of something so much larger than ourselves and it feels like an absolute gift to be alive in this time.
Walmart or Smallmart?
When we build things incrementally with an eye to future improvements, what results tends to be really financially productive; a high return on investment.