Placemaking aligns closely with the idea of third places, summarized by urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg as "public places on neutral ground where people can gather and interact."
The third places that resonate most within a community have often been forged through an evolutionary process. Consider, for example, a park that becomes home to a unique group or activity such as the District's Meridian Hill Park, which is home to a drum circle every Sunday that attracts hundreds of people to drum, play, dance, or relax. The group, and the third place it has established, would likely evolve through the social will of its participants and supporters or else eventually dissolve.
The establishment of the third place is an organic process that could not likely be described so scientifically as to reproduce it in any community. However, the placemaking concept can be seen as one way to apply a practice to the creation of a third place. Alternately, it might be described as a path to an environment encouraging of the community in endeavors to create such third places.
A personal example
I am involved in an all volunteer non-profit called The Bike House, where we teach people how to fix their bikes through hands on clinics and classes. In line with the Project for Public Spaces' placemaking model, The Bike House was founded to be a comfortable, accessible, sociable place built around a central activity. It has thrived thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers who have in turn attracted new "generations" of volunteers as others have departed due to the professional and educational churn often associated with DC.
In response to the CityLab Blog, Placemaking: A tale of Two Cities.
The third places that resonate most within a community have often been forged through an evolutionary process. Consider, for example, a park that becomes home to a unique group or activity such as the District's Meridian Hill Park, which is home to a drum circle every Sunday that attracts hundreds of people to drum, play, dance, or relax. The group, and the third place it has established, would likely evolve through the social will of its participants and supporters or else eventually dissolve.
The establishment of the third place is an organic process that could not likely be described so scientifically as to reproduce it in any community. However, the placemaking concept can be seen as one way to apply a practice to the creation of a third place. Alternately, it might be described as a path to an environment encouraging of the community in endeavors to create such third places.
A personal example
I am involved in an all volunteer non-profit called The Bike House, where we teach people how to fix their bikes through hands on clinics and classes. In line with the Project for Public Spaces' placemaking model, The Bike House was founded to be a comfortable, accessible, sociable place built around a central activity. It has thrived thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers who have in turn attracted new "generations" of volunteers as others have departed due to the professional and educational churn often associated with DC.
In response to the CityLab Blog, Placemaking: A tale of Two Cities.