Social Life Project has written an extraordinary reflection on the future of Central Business Districts. Ethan Kent, co-author and executive director of PlacemakingX, introduces the text as an open call to reinvent US Central Business Districts to be Central Social Districts.

“One of the critical objectives of current EU policy is to maintain lively rural areas. Rural activators are the only ones able to change these areas' fate. However, the desire to restore the rural areas should lay to all of us since we benefit from it. Rural activators face various socio‑economic pressures that make their work hard to maintain.” Justyna Turek, CEO of HOLIS, looks into a possible future for rural life. 

“(…) Loneliness erodes the prophylactic power of community for which no health care professional can substitute. With the pandemic, we saw how people who thought of themselves as members of a community were more likely to care for one another and act responsibly towards one another. Likewise, community can have a major influence on social determinants of health such as the physical environment, housing, education, access to food and mutual support.” Jim Diers, community activator, reads an essential book on loneliness and suggests comprehensive solutions.

“Our architecture and spaces tell a lot about our lifestyle and how we engage with our community. In Lahore, we see different types of front porches and thus different ways of connection and interaction within community. These modes of interaction together form the street life.” Peacemakers Pakistani examine a crucial element in the placemaking of Lahore and beyond.

“After the first waves of COVID-19, we observed how public spaces (streets, squares, parks) in various cities around the world began to become allies for both economic and sociocultural reactivation. From spaces for outdoor commerce to places of physical activity and recreation, of course, prioritizing the new rules of the game: social distancing, face masks and constant sanitization.” Miguel Mendoza and Nómada Estudio Urbano uses placemaking and a participatory approach to reactivate public space.

“Any public space is a learning ground. We get to meet strangers and interact with them and learn something from them, we get to experience nature and all its glory and lessons, we get to experience and face different challenges as well.” Peacemakers Pakistani

“And for me to have a comfortable journey across my city I need safe zones and management in public transport services, and I need space to walk alone or with my kids, especially the one who is in the pram.” Peacemakers Pakistani challenge us to look at our cities and ask if they’re comfortable for all citizens. Do we really succeed in creating safe and inclusive places for everybody?

“I believe that when girls/women start disappearing or hiding in the city, children disappear as well. And that’s how a downfall to community life or city vibrancy begins.” Peacemakers Pakistani share a crucial story of the use of public space.

“When you do hear complaints, it’s ok to gently point out that your town is open to everyone. People of all ages, all ethnicities, all backgrounds, all incomes. People who are new in town and people who have been here for generations. Our town is changing all the time because it is a living community of people.” Becky McCray and SaveYour.Town are open to newcomers.

“In an era where planetary boundaries are coming into sight or have been surpassed, we are glad to see that our field has embraced global and national issues, besides its tradition of applying local and community perspectives. Where we once started off by contrasting the market and the state on the one hand, with self-governance alternatives, on the other, we now see a tendency to look beyond this dichotomy and study co-management, co-production the role of markets and participation, instead.” The editors-in-chief of International Journal of the Commons examine how the study of the commons is gaining speed.

“In rich environments, people are interacting with the environment and transforming it with their own actions – moving a chair into the sun, doing a chalk painting, posting a flier, bringing their own chessboard, etc. Our built environments are a result of this constant interaction between the social context and spatial conditions.” Phil Myrick, global placemaking leader, shares a tip on how to create meaningful places.

“When we think of someone as being poor, homeless, disabled, non-English speaking, at-risk, addicted, mentally ill, unemployed or retired, we tend to focus on what that person is missing rather than on the contributions they could make. A truly inclusive neighborhood recognizes that everyone needs community and that community needs everyone.” Community activator, Jim Diers, examines the potential found in real inclusion.

“To my mind, and many others, every dollar a community invests in infrastructure should be spent with multiple outcomes in mind. Any other way of spending is not only too expensive, but will likely create the kinds of problems that were created when we paid exclusive attention to solving traffic problems simply by building new roads. Or solving flooding by building dams. These approaches didn’t solve the problems – they only made them worse.” Phil Myrick, global placemaking leader, examines the high impact of placemaking.

“Most of our neighborhoods were designed by outside professionals – planners, architects and developers. Increasingly, though, residents are working together to create a unique identity for their neighborhood and to shape places where they can bump into one another on a regular basis.” Community activator, Jim Diers, explores the many ways of building communities fit for the 21st century.

“Police departments typically fail to understand that the safest blocks are the ones that focus not on safety but on building community. Rather than simply teach people how to be secure in their homes and watch for strangers, residents should be encouraged to get out of their homes and connect with neighbors on a regular basis.” Community activator, Jim Diers, lets us in on a shortcut to healthier, happier, more caring and wiser neighborhoods.

“College campuses are the original “innovation district,” offering a rich density of minds that are concentrated for maximum intake and output of thought. The assumption is always that these minds will meet in serendipitous encounters and campus meeting places. But the reality often falls far short and campuses need to be much more intentional about creating the collision spaces where these interactions can happen.” Phil Myrick, global placemaking leader, lists the many benefits of campus placemaking.

“The mantra during this entire period has been, roughly, ‘build downtown for locals, not tourists. We’ve been pushed out by the tourists for too long.’ The return of locals only seems right, for what is one of America’s very oldest cities with a totally unique and authentic culture.” Phil Myrick, global placemaking leader, has been a driving force in the transformation of downtown San Antonio into a more welcoming place.

Phil Myrick, global placemaking leader, invites us to turn our campuses inside out and go find the hidden treasures.

Town Team Movement and PlacemakingX are inviting you to become a placemaker with the launch of Placemaking.Education, a new online learning platform bringing placemaking to all corners of the world.

“You know public spaces are a source of free entertainment. And honestly, I love this aspect of public or outdoor places. But what is entertainment and why is it important? Entertainment generally means “an event, performance, or activity designed to provide amusement or enjoyment to others.” So basically, it’s an act that gives you joy and some good time.” Peacemakers Pakistani.

“First, do no harm.” This dictum is frequently but mistakenly associated with the Hippocratic Oath. Although community activator, Jim Diers, was disconcerted to learn that physicians are not guided by this rule, he’s suggesting that it be adopted by community workers as the basis for a code of conduct. Diers finds that we need to acknowledge the ways in which we often inadvertently harm the very communities we are trying to help and pledge to work in ways that contribute to their health.

“My favorite bumping places are the ones that are designed and built by the neighbors. These places are most likely to reflect what is special about the residents and their neighborhood, and they are designed to work for the people who live there. Through creating the place, neighbors feel a sense of ownership. They are more likely to use, maintain and program it.” Jim Diers, community activator, explores the art of creating bumping places.

Community activator Jim Diers was invited to speak at a conference of not-for-profit organizations on the topic of “How to Recruit More Volunteers.” The conference organizers must have been distressed when he began his remarks by asserting: “What we need is fewer volunteers and more community.” Read Jim’s view on the difference between the two.

The architectural collective of Lacol examines the power of community. The collective’s new office is siuated on top of La Comunal, a project designed by Lacol in Barcelona’s neighbourhood of Sants. Underneath the offices lies La Ciutat Invisible (The Invisible City), a bookshop and cultural project exploring new ideas of working and living in communities and in resistance to the capitalist system.

Lacol worked closely with the future residents of La Borda in Barcelona. The community’s 28 residential units were completed in October 2018 after a participatory process. La Borda sits on the edge of Can Batlló, a former industrial zone. The first discussions of La Borda emerged in 2012 as residents and activists began discussing Barcelona’s housing crisis and sought for novel ways of living communally. Here’s an architectural blueprint of the project.

Building strong communities is not easy. In “Bowling Alone”, Robert Putnam documents the decline of community life in North America. He blames poverty, suburbanization, television, and more time spent at work. Others have added fear, mobility, globalization and increased professionalization and specialization to the list of culprits. Jim Diers, community activator, reflects on 37 years in community building. He offers simple rules of engagement that still hold true today.

How do we measure the strenghts and weaknesses of towns and help residents gain a deeper understanding of their homes? Understanding Scottish Places is a tool which helps towns practitioners and communities better understand the function of the towns they live and work in. The platform functions as a diagnostic tool while providing the opportunity to compare and contrast data about places across the country.

ASeedlingPlace* will act as a connection of the global network of people or groups that are taking actions to green spaces in their respective cities in a collaborative manner.

How can we utilise the space above our heads?

“At the end of 2020, the "Cultural Streets" project was created. The main objective was to contribute to the urban recovery of the city and the gradual reactivation of public life in the historic center of Juarez, using open space, urban art and tactical urbanism as allies.” Miguel Mendoza tells the story of how Mexican Juarez is finding its way to a more rooted way of living.