A new article from Smart Growth America portrays the successes of placemaking in communities as diverse as Soldotna, Alaska (population 4,163), Orlando, and Philadelphia.
Smart Growth America highlights placemaking as an effective tool for a variety of urban development goals in a new article entitled Placemaking Done Right: Three Successful Approaches.
Planners and placemakers in all employment sectors can use the approaches of these three communities as a toolkit to target the following areas:
Facade Improvements - The small community Soldotna, Alaska provides matching grant funds for businesses in the downtown area to make repairs and beautification efforts to storefronts, signs, and landscaping, with $36,000 in city funds spurring private investment worth $212,500.
Public Art - Since 1959, Philadelphia has witnessed over 400 pieces of public art installed through its Percent for Art program designed to incorporate art into the development process.
Commercial District Advocacy - Orlando is one of five cities to initiate its own Main Street program, which advocates for traditional commercial areas which traditionally do not have access to management tools offered to contemporary commercial developments such as shopping malls. Orlando's program has realized almost 500 new businesses, 3,000 jobs and 300 housing units in the past five years.
FULL STORY: Placemaking Done Right: Three Successful Approaches
An Orlando Business District Revitalization Success Story
Mills 50, just northeast of Downtown Orlando, has been reborn as the city's Main Street and has helped spur development, investment, and interest in Orlando's urban core.
Three Cities Where New Immigrants Revitalized Main Street
Fusion lists three cities as examples of new immigrants becoming the face of community businesses in neighborhoods needing a boost.
Philadelphia Tests Bulletproof Enclosures for Bus Drivers in Wake of Fatal Shooting
The city is one of several aiming to improve driver safety.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research