PlacemakingUS

It’s a small world, especially when you get to participate in a #WorldUrbanForum with 37,000 urban leaders from 182 counties working to improve our collective cities and places. It is was a great pleasure to get to gather with 50+ PlacemakingX leaders from 12 of our 30 networks, and to present on 7 different sessions of #WUF12. While national leadership in the US, and around the world, may be moving towards a culture of “place taking,” people working closer to the ground are increasingly embracing a culture of #placemaking. Connecting and supporting these people will insure and enable a thriving future. Some personal highlights from an epic week:

Hey friends, spread the word: The Congress for the New Urbanism is hiring! We are looking for a passionate, action-oriented individual to fill the role of Director of Engagement here at CNU. The right candidate will be ready to play a vital part in expanding the New Urbanist movement and in activating the urban change that will lead to more walkable, sustainable, equitable cities and towns. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eBFB_ybe

At PlacemakingUS, our bread and butter is connecting placemakers across the country. But, we really love opportunities to get hands-on and craft beautiful community-engaged works with local partners. We're over the moon for this traditional tortilla-griddle project at a historic public property in Southern California that was born out of our Placemaking Week Oaxaca event earlier this year. If you want to collaborate with PlacemakingUS on a local project, we'd love to talk.

Reflections on how the US Placemaking movement can survive and thrive during the next administration.

Congestion pricing is now moving forward in NYC! As it happens we’ve just published an article on why it is needed and how this opportunity can be leveraged for greater public space and placemaking goals: https://lnkd.in/eHg3D2tG by Fred Kent, Kathy Madden, Tayana Panova, PhD and Ethan Kent #PlacemakingNYC #CongestionPricing #NYCStreets

How MAGA Could Be Helping to Bring About the Future They Most Fear(But Shouldn’t) My personal processing of another surprising election outcome, and how we can make it be for the best. While I’ve been lucky to work in communities in almost all US states(and over 60 countries), of all political stripes and sizes, I did not for a moment see the possibility of Trump and his movement succeeding in 2016. The morning we learned he had first been elected, I was in North Carolina keynoting an annual meeting for Downton Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Clinton had been up 7 percentage points in the polls just before the election, but ended up losing by 3.6 points. All of us at the event of hundreds of city leaders seemed dumfounded and in shock. During this election I was at the 12th World Urban Forum, in Cairo, with 37,000 urban leaders from 182 countries. Both times, but even more clearly this time, I was lucky to see that the people leading the world, and doing it together, are local. Public spaces, and the people that protect and improve them, transcend borders and politics, and reflect all stripes of humanity. Now is the time for us to lead!

Some highlights from our speaking at seven sessions of the?#WorldUrbanForum?on a broad variety of?#publicspace?and?#placemaking?agendas, in collaboration with dozens of ?#PlacemakingX?leaders and UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) collaborators . #WUF12?#UrbanDevelopment #Cities

50+ PlacemakingX leaders participated in the World Urban Forum in Cairo, Egypt this past week. Among dozens of sessions we all spoke spoke at, we organized a networking session that featured many regional and placemaking network leaders, as well as some agenda leaders. The packed program of our event on November 7th, 17:00-18:30: Welcome and Intro Ethan Kent, Executive Director of PlacemakingX Panel 1: Regional Placemaking Networks Lobna A. Mostafa, Ph.D. - Amaken Placemaking Ayanda Roji - Placemaking Africa/Centre on African Public Spaces Centre on African Public Spaces Mariana Alegre Escorza - #placemakinglatinoamerica Vivian Doumpa - Placemaking Europe Panel 2: National Placemaking Networks Niharika Mathema - #placemakingnepal Tharaa Kirresh - #PlacemakingForPalestinians Ryan Smolar - PlacemakingUS Phaeba Abraham - Placemaking India Luciana Renner - Fundación Placemaking México Fredrik Lindst?l - Placemaking Sweden Adriana Sans?o Fontes - Placemaking Brasil Panel 3: Placemaking Global Agenda Leaders Moderator - Guillermo Bernal, PlacemakingX, The Place Institute, Fundación #PlacemakingMexico Nourhan Bassam - #PlacemakingForWomen The Gendered City Steve Davies - Placemaking for Markets/ #MarketCities Project for Public Spaces Viviana Cordero - #PlacemakingForChildren and Youth Huasipichanga Carmen Mays, MPA - Placemaking for Restoration #WUF12 #WorldUrbanForum #UrbanDevelopment #PublicSpace #UrbanPlanning #UrbanDesign #PlacemakingX

Sharing the 1st of our many #WorldUrbanForum participations, "A Space For All," on the power of art and culture to create vibrant #publicspaces and thriving communities. This special session led by UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) was co-curated with #PlacemakingX. Watch the full session here on UN TV, including a talk by our Ethan Kent, on Enhancing Creative Capacity Through #Placemaking: https://lnkd.in/ejKSD6xs Thanks to Laban-Cliff Onserio for masterfully moderating, and to other panelists Suhailey Farzana, Mathew Cottam, Bahia Shehab, Suzanne M., Eric Manya, Emin Huseynov, and Jyoti Hosagrahar. #WUF12 #CreativePlacemaking #PublicSpace #PublicArt

Placemaking & Global Networks Session has begun! World Uban Forum, Cairo, Egypt 2024. Led by Ethan Kent of PlacemakingX