Posts Tagged ‘Scott Doyon’
Placemaking vs. Placeshaking
A recent post over on Comstock’s reignited consideration of the word “placemaking,” sparking along with it a little renewed interest in this piece below, which originally ran back in February, 2013. Given that we as a firm have officially been “placemakers” (on legal documents and everything!) since 2003, we unsurprisingly have our own thoughts on…
Read MoreMaking Sense of Community
Let’s start at the beginning. Sense of community is a legitimate thing. Or at least it was, until people like me got ahold of it. To explain: In 1986, social psychologists David W. McMillan and David M. Chavis published their theory on what they termed “sense of community” — the feeling we experience when engaged…
Read MoreFortunately, Unfortunately: A children’s primer on urban evolution
Not so long ago I was reminded of a book my Mom used to read me as a child: “Fortunately,” by Remy Charlip (briefly renamed “What Good Luck! What Bad Luck!” for a few years as well). It tells the tale of a young boy invited to a party and the series of misfortunes he…
Read MoreTraditional vs. Modern: More than just a pretty face
New Urbanism, by definition, is style neutral. Its focus is getting the form — the urbanism — right but then letting the architecture be what it may. That’s not to suggest, of course, that many New Urbanists don’t have very strong feelings one way or the other. Many do. Particularly as it relates to traditional…
Read MoreWalkability: Good money after bad
Let’s talk about dollars spent. Millions of dollars. 7.2 million dollars specifically, of which 5.5 million came directly from the local economy. The goal? At least according to local leadership, it was to increase quality of life via improved walkability. First, a caveat: This isn’t going to be one of those pieces denouncing government spending…
Read MorePorchfest: Your Guide to a DIY Community-Building Good Time
Five or so years ago, Better Cities and Towns publisher Rob Steuteville told me about Porchfest, a yearly community event taking root in his Ithaca, New York, neighborhood. The idea is simple: For one afternoon, porches throughout the community become makeshift stages, yards become venues, and people from within and beyond wander the streets, chatting,…
Read MoreThoughts on Seaside at 35
If memory serves, it was twenty years ago this year that Seaside, Florida, first showed up on my radar. That’s fairly early if you use the typical southeastern beach goer as your guide but not so early if your measure is the people who actually made Seaside happen. Their window was considerably different. In fact,…
Read MoreCommunity Ties in the Era of Isolation
Looking back over my years of writing for Placeshakers, I notice two themes that keep surfacing: First, we’re better off taking an active role in shaping the forces of community change than we are pretending that immunity to change is a legitimate or viable option; and second, connected communities are far better positioned to weather…
Read More“General Welfare” for the Next Generation
Lately I’ve been thinking about “health, safety, and general welfare” — the basis by which zoning is typically legitimized and measured — and wondering just how great a disconnect needs to form between our purported values and our land use regulations before we admit that something’s not working.
Read MoreBetter Streets: Whatchu whatchu whatchu want?
“What a bunch of idiots. Don’t they know this will create a traffic nightmare?” Sound familiar? It’s the most commonly voiced complaint any time the community conversation turns to traffic calming. Taken at face value, it’s not an outrageous sentiment. After all, when you’re out and about, anything that stands between you and where you…
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