Creative Placemaking Bootcamp, Main Street Now, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (May 24, 2016) It all started with an idea, and the idea wasn’t even ours — it was from a bunch of really smart people with the National Endowment for the Arts and leaders of other national arts organizations that convened in Washington, DC in November 2014. During their “Beyond the Building” meeting they
This is the story of how a National Endowment for the Arts gathering of national arts leaders in DC that was listened to by leaders of a small town in Appalachia inspired them to connect with leaders in Milwaukee to transform a neglected park. The National Endowment for the Arts at their “Beyond the Building” meeting in 2014 identified national
“Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities,” The Conservation Fund, Sheperdstown, West Virginia (March 2016) This session provided real world examples of thriving rural communities and the tools and techniques they use; highlighted the keys to success of working with diverse public, private, and nonprofit partners; and provided an opportunity for participants to discuss lessons learned and tips for success
On Halloween Day, 2015, Middlesboro made history by building the first protected bike lane in Kentucky. Volunteers were invited to help with building the first protected bike lane in Kentucky. Once the green lane was painted, the sharrow stencil and spraypaint finished the job. Volunteers headed back along the Canal Walk to join the main group doing some cleanup. At
So the idea came to us one Saturday in September 2015 while we were borrowing a power washer from a friend. When taking the nasty grime off of our retaining wall, what if by not removing a small amount we left a message behind? We had seen other examples of elaborate patterns being created through similar techniques elsewhere. One technique
Parklets in West Palm Beach during our visit ranged from traditional to the whimsical. Sculpture made from piping and painted a bright yellow color serves dual purposes. It draws attention to the parklet. Second, for vehicles parking, it gives a warning of how close the parking space is to the parklet. Third, in the worst case if it is run
Tactical Urbanism Workshop, National Main Streets Conference, Atlanta, Georgia (March 2015) Have no money and want to fix your downtown? No problem. We’ll show you ten ways you get started restoring your downtown for $500 or less. Tactical urbanism and temporary interventions will be explored in depth. Participants will be given hands-on opportunities to build a pallet chair, create a
So you want to transform your downtown but only have a shoestring budget. Or your volunteers are willing to help out but the last thing they want to do is sit through endless meetings to make ANOTHER plan that will never translate in to results. What is any self-respecting Main Street manager, public official, or volunteer to do? The Emergence
This was built during the Better Block Middlesborough project in 2014. This installation was modelled on the suspended trees at MassMOCA in North Adams, Massachusetts.
Using Tactical Urbanism to Preserve Downtowns National Main Streets Conference, Detroit, Michigan (May 2014) “Tactical urbanism” is a hot, new, revolutionary movement that is transforming how people revitalize places. One example of tactical urbanism, the Better Block movement, creates short-term “interventions” in a 48-hour period for $1,000 or less, planting the seeds for long-term change. Learn how Main Street communities