What makes a great place? The art of creating places that bring people together, places that attract, delight, excite and comfort, is explored in Place Making: Developing Town Centers, Main Streets and Urban Villages, a new publication from the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

The book, authored by Charles C. Bohl, focuses primarily on place making in suburban areas-areas that have long been identified with segregated-use, isolated, auto-dependent developments. The concept of place making in the suburbs developed in response to consumer demand for communities with more urban, walkable facilities that provide gathering places for socialization, and which is achieved through the development of focal points, the author explains. Successful place making in the suburbs, whether on a small or large scale, involves creating mixed-use, clustered developments that provide a of sense of community through a cohesive, integrated design, Bohl says.

Illustrated in vivid color throughout, Place Making offers several case studies as examples of "great places": CityPlace, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Easton Town Center, Columbus, Ohio; Haile Village Center, Gainesville, Fla.; Market Square in Kentlands/Lakelands, Gaithersburg, Md.; Market Street at Celebration, Celebration, Fla.; Orenco Station Town Center, Portland, Ore.; Southlake Town Square, Southlake, Texas; Town Center Drive, Valencia, Calif.

The opening chapter of Place Making identifies and discusses key factors driving the development of town center and main street projects. In addition to rising consumer demand in general, other factors are changing demographics; market forces spurring innovative design; and new public policies oriented toward such developments. The second chapter offers a historical perspective on the evolution of place making in America; and the third chapter offers basic design ideas for creating a great place. Various formats for town centers, urban villages and main street developments are included in the fourth chapter, and financing is covered in the fifth. "Breakthrough" projects and case studies are analyzed in the sixth and seventh chapters, while the final chapter sums up what works and what doesn't for different types of projects.

Copies are available to ULI members for $59.95; for non-members, $69.95; order from Amazon.com or ULI at www.bookstore.uli.org or call 800-321-5011.

Related Link: http://remote.bookstore.uli.org

For more information contact:

Patricia Riggs
Urban Land Institute
1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Suite 500W
Washington
DC 20007
USA

Phone: 202-624-7086
Fax: 202-624-7140
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.uli.org