Surveying the public discussion for answers about how to make sense of placemaking.
The placemaking ethos has produced many successful examples, according to an article by Zoya Gul Hasan, but "to delve more deeply into the process and outcomes of the placemaking movement is to find oneself in a mire."
Hasan asks if placemaking is "understood and defined clearly enough for it to be a useful tool for urbanists." Also the debate about placemaking has many critics and supporters: it's "simultaneously a much-lauded global movement, an academic discipline, a field, discourse, process, and tool, but is also, among other charges, heavily criticized..."
Hasan links to many sources that have raised questions about placemaking, regarding its connection to gentrification and the field of architecture, among other critiques. The article concludes by suggesting that 2018 should be a year of introspection by practitioners of placemaking.
FULL STORY: Placemaking: Movement, Manifesto, Tool, Buzzword—or What?
Has Placemaking Become Cliché?
There’s very little that differentiates proposals by four distinguished planning and design firms to better connect my university to its immediate neighborhood and the wider city. Why is that, and does it have to be that way?
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The Panacea of Outdoor Human Movement
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Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25,% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
North Texas Transit Leaders Tout Benefits of TOD for Growing Region
At a summit focused on transit-oriented development, policymakers discussed how North Texas’ expanded light rail system can serve as a tool for economic growth.
Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.
Santa Barbara Could Build Housing on County Land
County supervisors moved forward a proposal to build workforce housing on two county-owned parcels.
San Mateo Formally Opposes Freeway Project
The city council will send a letter to Caltrans urging the agency to reconsider a plan to expand the 101 through the city of San Mateo.
A Bronx Community Fights to Have its Voice Heard
After organizing and giving input for decades, the community around the Kingsbridge Armory might actually see it redeveloped — and they want to continue to have a say in how it goes.
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