Social Sustainability
Placemaking
Definition
Placemaking is a participatory process for planning, designing and managing public spaces — streets, squares, parks, waterfronts — that builds on a community's assets and aspirations to create places that promote health, happiness and wellbeing. Popularised by Project for Public Spaces from the 1970s onward, it treats quality places as the outcome of community engagement, not just professional design.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Placemaking” is defined and used.
Source imported for editorial provenance.
Overview
How it is used
Municipalities, developers and community groups apply placemaking frameworks in regeneration and public-space projects; it features in urban health, walkability and 15-minute city agendas.
Why it matters
Sustainable cities depend on public life as much as on infrastructure; placemaking is the main practice tradition that links community participation directly to the physical quality of urban space.