Placemaking practices and cultivating a sense of place Research Papers (original) (raw)

This article describes three cases of placemaking workshops conducted by the author in three different countries: Ukraine, Tunisia, and Poland, and against different cultural and political backgrounds. In each case, the application of... more

This article describes three cases of placemaking workshops conducted by the author in three different countries: Ukraine, Tunisia, and Poland, and against different cultural and political backgrounds. In each case, the application of placemaking methods encouraged public participation, showed the potential to facilitate the decision-making process, and helped resolve potential or existing conflicts while building confidence in democratic procedures and institutions. This research highlights the importance of the PPS method which helped to build a team of stakeholders sharing similar views, ones convinced that a positive change is possible and are ready to cooperate. Such attitudes are especially valuable in places where local democracy and participatory urban management is undeveloped.

Smithfield, Dublin, was a community pocket park on a vacant land site on an inner city street commonly called 'the worst street in Dublin, and included a curated programme of site-specific installations, art gallery, meeting place and... more

Smithfield, Dublin, was a community pocket park on a vacant land site on an inner city street commonly called 'the worst street in Dublin, and included a curated programme of site-specific installations, art gallery, meeting place and cultural events that galvanised artist and residents in a period of urban revitalisation.

Edited by Cara Courage, Anita McKeown Routledge, 2019 https://www.routledge.com/Creative-Placemaking-Research-Theory-and-Practice/Courage-McKeown/p/book/9780367586935 This book makes a significant contribution to the history of placemaking, presenting grassroots to top-down practices and socially engaged, situated artistic practices and artsled spatial inquiry that go beyond instrumentalising the arts for development. The book brings together a range of scholars to critique and deconstruct the notion of creative placemaking, presenting diverse case studies from researcher, practitioner, funder and policymaker perspectives from across the globe. It opens with the creators of the 2010 White Paper that named and defined creative placemaking, Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa Nicodemus, who offer a cortically reflexive narrative on the founding of the sector and its development. This book looks at vernacular creativity in place, a topic continued through the book with its focus on the practitioner and community-placed projects. It closes with a consideration of aesthetics, metrics and, from the editors, a consideration of the next ten years for the sector. If creative placemaking is to contribute to places-in-the-making and encourage citizenled agency, new conceptual frameworks and practical methodologies are required. This book joins theorists and practitioners in dialogue, advocating for transdisciplinary, resilient processes.

This research is an attempt at recognizing the placemaking attributes by studying Sacred Groves of Ambaji. A brief study of the human-nature relationship, the cultural significance of trees and the concept of Sacred Groves were conducted... more

This research is an attempt at recognizing the placemaking attributes by studying Sacred Groves of Ambaji. A brief study of the human-nature relationship, the cultural significance of trees and the concept of Sacred Groves were conducted to understand the reason behind this integral association of people and trees. Detail investigation of three different cases of Ambaji was conducted, as per a specific framework, through the means of site documentation, analysis and interview have been done. The study encompasses the concept of space, place, sense of place and the role of placemaking attributes to understand the difference between these phenomena.
This research highlights the inter and intra relation between placemaking attributes. It showcases the origin of places borne out of local people’s intuition and exhibits the actors behind the development of a place that is not devoid of political, technological and economic aspects. Further design proposals are also provided that can be used as further research and design guidelines.

This paper presents the concept of social practice placemaking (SPPM), placing this within a placemaking typology, and further anchor SPPM within a social architectural practice. It will present this thinking with global examples of SPPM... more

This paper presents the concept of social practice placemaking (SPPM), placing this within a placemaking typology, and further anchor SPPM within a social architectural practice. It will present this thinking with global examples of SPPM and with research findings from Art Tunnel Smithfield , Dublin.
SPPM is a grassroots urban and arts-led placemaking and a co-produced and performative artform. The paper will conceptualise this activity as the logical extension of urban arts practice, from public/new genre public art (Lacy 2008) and participatory arts to a ‘new situationism’ (Doherty 2004). The paper will problematize the notion of urban ‘arts and architecture’ practice and the formal sector as a critical spatial practice (Rendell 2006, Petrescu 2006) and will extend architectural critical thinking on the co-production of art as constructive of new spatial configurations and emergent relations between users and space, impacting public life (Meejin Yoon 2009), whereby locating it in the socio-political of urban life, this practice has to be understood as an art form that dematerialises the built object and is concerned with creative and social processes and outcomes.
SPPM is a polylogic performative artform with space/place the non-human actant (Whybrow 2011, Kwon 2004) to the human ones of creative process and practice. It will detail who may be required in a cross-disciplinary team to affect change in urban placemaking, including the notion of ‘urban creatives’, a co-production team of ‘art’ and ‘non-art’ actors in equanimity, which includes the users of the space, planners, policy makers, artists and architects for example. It will address issues of the urban city space as a place of artistic hybridisation, cross arts boundaries in creative production, in co-production and the degree to which urban city spaces may be transformative their urban setting – for the individual, the community, the material space and arts practice.

An online bi-monthly architecture journal interrogating the vocation and activity of those positioned on the fringe of the formal architecture sector, publishing thought pieces from those who work inside and outside of... more

This paper will present grassroots urban creative placemaking as a co-produced and performative artform. It will conceptualise this activity as the logical extension of urban arts practice, from public/new genre public art (Lacy 2008) and... more

Placemaking is an approach to designing and planning public spaces, including their management, which is becoming widespread not only in the United States but worldwide. The idea of placemaking is revolutionary because of its approach to... more

Placemaking is an approach to designing and planning public spaces, including their management, which is becoming widespread not only in the United States but worldwide. The idea of placemaking is revolutionary because of its approach to urban issues that opens up new possibilities of participatory design. The focus of the practice is on the place, consequently on the community that uses and lives in it because public space symbolizes the “connective tissue” of communities, hence the importance of its care. This paper outlines the issues and major trends emerging from recent placemaking experiences.

Edited by Cara Courage, Anita McKeown Routledge, 2019 https://www.routledge.com/Creative-Placemaking-Research-Theory-and-Practice/Courage-McKeown/p/book/9780367586935 This book makes a significant contribution to the history of placemaking, presenting grassroots to top-down practices and socially engaged, situated artistic practices and artsled spatial inquiry that go beyond instrumentalising the arts for development. The book brings together a range of scholars to critique and deconstruct the notion of creative placemaking, presenting diverse case studies from researcher, practitioner, funder and policymaker perspectives from across the globe. It opens with the creators of the 2010 White Paper that named and defined creative placemaking, Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa Nicodemus, who offer a cortically reflexive narrative on the founding of the sector and its development. This book looks at vernacular creativity in place, a topic continued through the book with its focus on the practitioner and community-placed projects. It closes with a consideration of aesthetics, metrics and, from the editors, a consideration of the next ten years for the sector. If creative placemaking is to contribute to places-in-the-making and encourage citizenled agency, new conceptual frameworks and practical methodologies are required. This book joins theorists and practitioners in dialogue, advocating for transdisciplinary, resilient processes.

This piece of research, in ally with site-specific art theory, is a rethought of the relation between ‘site’, ‘place’ and ‘space’ and applied theatre. It approaches these concepts from three perspectives using Sally Mackey’s applied place... more

This piece of research, in ally with site-specific art theory, is a rethought of the relation between ‘site’, ‘place’ and ‘space’ and applied theatre. It approaches these concepts from three perspectives using Sally Mackey’s applied place practices as the thread: a) performance-related activities as place-making tools b) sensory perceptions as ways into our conceived space and c) key aspects on community refracted from its location and the ethics of community-based art work. This dissertation embraces the idea that spatial practices are worth being more consciously attended to in applied theatre praxis.

This paper presents research with Art Tunnel Smithfield (ATS), Dublin, positioning it in Dublin-wide place-making practices, and situating it within the city's tracts of vacant land and Dublin's bespoke new urbanism. It focuses on the... more

This paper presents research with Art Tunnel Smithfield (ATS), Dublin, positioning it in Dublin-wide place-making practices, and situating it within the city's tracts of vacant land and Dublin's bespoke new urbanism. It focuses on the project as a form of social arts practice, giving examples of arts activities and agencies in the space, and locating the work within placemaking typology as 'social practice placemaking' (SPPM). SPPM is conceptualised as an extension of participatory public/new genre public art (Lacy, 2008) to a 'new situationism' (Doherty, 2004). This perspective views the co-production of art as constructive of new spatial configurations and emergent relations between users and space. Locating this work in the socio-politics of urban life, SPPM has to be understood as an art form that dematerializes the built object and is concerned with creative and social processes and outcomes.

This paper presents a case study of the social practice arts in place of The Drawing Shed, a London-based arts organisation, citing examples of its practice and process, and in particular its LiveLunch (2014) event on The Drive estate in... more

This paper presents a case study of the social practice arts in place of The Drawing Shed, a London-based arts organisation, citing examples of its practice and process, and in particular its LiveLunch (2014) event on The Drive estate in Walthamstow, London, E17, and the communal meal-making activity of artist-in-residence, Pablo Perezzarate. This activity, as place-based and place identity concerned, is presented through the prism of social practice placemaking (Courage, 2014, 20171). The paper begins by describing the event of the LiveLunch and the conversations it facilitated. It goes on to consider this event through the making of the meal – its informal and relational and dialogical aesthetics and its performativity – and goes on to consider the place and effect of the meal. It concludes with particular consideration of the position of the artist in publically-sited social practice art and placemaking.

Design and Planning professionals have long been influenced by the belief in physically and spatially deterministic power over people and the environment, a belief that their representations of space become space. As a result the goal of... more

Design and Planning professionals have long been influenced by the belief in physically and spatially deterministic power over people and the environment, a belief that their representations of space become space. As a result the goal of design often becomes " fixing " or directing behavior and culture instead of letting culture happen. This outlook often prevents designers from engaging critically with culture, through representational space and spatial practice, as a crucial , possibly the most crucial, aspect in the design process. Just as human cultures interact to constantly reproduce and co-produce hybrid cultures, the professional designer and those users and experiencers of design (at whatever scale) must interact to co-produce spaces and places of activity. Through a critique of the practice of placemaking, we highlight the need to differentiate between participation and co-production. Understanding participation as one element of the design process and the role of design at larger scales of co-productive processes can help designers have a better understanding of how spaces are produced, and the role of designers in the creation of spaces of potentiality. Agamben's writing on potentialities and Lefebvre's spatial triad offer a theoretical framework to investigate the ethical role of professional designers in society while taking a critical stance against the singular solutions of modernist urban transformation. Spaces of Potentiality are seen here as a designer's simultaneous withdrawal from rational problem solving and deterministic solutions, and an engagement with open source strategies for the co-production of urban space.

This paper presents research with Art Tunnel Smithfield (ATS), Dublin, positioning it in Dublin-wide placemaking practices, and situating it within the city’s tracts of vacant land and Dublin’s bespoke new urbanism. It focuses on the... more

This paper presents research with Art Tunnel Smithfield (ATS), Dublin, positioning it in Dublin-wide placemaking practices, and situating it within the city’s tracts of vacant land and Dublin’s bespoke new urbanism. It focuses on the project as a form of social arts practice, giving examples of arts activities and agencies in the space, and locating the work within placemaking typology as ‘social practice placemaking’ (SPPM). SPPM is conceptualised as an extension of participatory public/new genre public art (Lacy, 2008) to a ‘new situationism’ (Doherty, 2004). This perspective views the co-production of art as constructive of new spatial configurations and emergent relations between users and space. Locating this work in the socio-politics of urban life, SPPM has to be understood as an art form that dematerializes the built object and is concerned with creative and social processes and outcomes.

La Walt Disney Imagineering, en construisant les « Villages-Nature » construisent un « ailleurs sensoriel », une « hétérotopie écologique », et proposent des expériences situationnelles et émotionnelles qui par des simulacres naturels... more

La Walt Disney Imagineering, en construisant les « Villages-Nature » construisent un « ailleurs sensoriel », une « hétérotopie écologique », et proposent des expériences situationnelles et émotionnelles qui par des simulacres naturels viennent transcender une nature jugée banale et ordinaire. Par des techniques de pure théâtralisation : l'illusion optique, la notion de l'infini atmosphérique, le jeu du montré/caché, la nature forcée-héritées des conditions perceptives et situationnelles baroque-offre une découverte publique de « jardins extraordinaires », tels « des jardins sacrés », « une nature sacralisée », « un simulacre naturel ». Mots-clés : Expérience du sacré, expérience situationnelle, hétérotopie écologique, nature sacralisée, Simulacre naturel.

This article describes three cases of placemaking workshops conducted by the author in three different countries: Ukraine, Tunisia, and Poland, and against different cultural and political backgrounds. In each case, the application of... more

This article describes three cases of placemaking workshops conducted by the author in three different countries: Ukraine, Tunisia, and Poland, and against different cultural and political backgrounds. In each case, the application of placemaking methods encouraged public participation, showed the potential to facilitate the decision-making process, and helped resolve potential or existing conflicts while building confidence in democratic procedures and institutions. This research highlights the importance of the PPS method which helped to build a team of stakeholders sharing similar views, ones convinced that a positive change is possible and are ready to cooperate. Such attitudes are especially valuable in places where local democracy and participatory urban management is undeveloped.

This article describes three cases of placemaking workshops conducted by the author in three different countries: Ukraine, Tunisia, and Poland, and against different cultural and political backgrounds. In each case, the application of... more

This article describes three cases of placemaking workshops conducted by the author in three different countries: Ukraine, Tunisia, and Poland, and against different cultural and political backgrounds. In each case, the application of placemaking methods encouraged public participation, showed the potential to facilitate the decision-making process, and helped resolve potential or existing conflicts while building confidence in democratic procedures and institutions. This research highlights the importance of the PPS method which helped to build a team of stakeholders sharing similar views, ones convinced that a positive change is possible and are ready to cooperate. Such attitudes are especially valuable in places where local democracy and participatory urban management is undeveloped.

This paper presents a case study of the social practice arts in place of The Drawing Shed, a London-based arts organisation, citing examples of its practice and process, and in particular its LiveLunch (2014) event on The Drive estate in... more

This paper presents a case study of the social practice arts in place of The Drawing Shed, a London-based arts organisation, citing examples of its practice and process, and in particular its LiveLunch (2014) event on The Drive estate in Walthamstow, London, E17, and the communal meal-making activity of artist-in-residence, Pablo Perezzarate. This activity, as place-based and place identity concerned, is presented through the prism of social practice placemaking (Courage, 2014, 20171). The paper begins by describing the event of the LiveLunch and the conversations it facilitated. It goes on to consider this event through the making of the meal – its informal and relational and dialogical aesthetics and its performativity – and goes on to consider the place and effect of the meal. It concludes with particular consideration of the position of the artist in publically-sited social practice art and placemaking.

Edited by Cara Courage, Anita McKeown Routledge, 2019 https://www.routledge.com/Creative-Placemaking-Research-Theory-and-Practice/Courage-McKeown/p/book/9780367586935 This book makes a significant contribution to the history of placemaking, presenting grassroots to top-down practices and socially engaged, situated artistic practices and artsled spatial inquiry that go beyond instrumentalising the arts for development. The book brings together a range of scholars to critique and deconstruct the notion of creative placemaking, presenting diverse case studies from researcher, practitioner, funder and policymaker perspectives from across the globe. It opens with the creators of the 2010 White Paper that named and defined creative placemaking, Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa Nicodemus, who offer a cortically reflexive narrative on the founding of the sector and its development. This book looks at vernacular creativity in place, a topic continued through the book with its focus on the practit...

The article deals with the construction of a narrative and sense of place among the Jewish immigrant-settler society in 20th century Israel in the context of its efforts to establish a national collective identity on indigenous (i.e.... more

The article deals with the construction of a narrative and sense of place among the Jewish immigrant-settler society in 20th century Israel in the context of its efforts to establish a national collective identity on indigenous (i.e. authentic) foundations and with the symbolic struggle with the Palestinian national movement as its backdrop. The case study under discussion is the instalment in public spaces of mosaic decorations inspired by ancient Jewish mosaics unearthed in archaeological excavations. I argue that intentionally or unintentionally, these decorations functioned as agents in the construction of an authentic narrative and a sense of place by producing a link between the current and the ancient Jewish presence in the place. This practice went hand-in-hand with the hegemonic national dogma about the link between an ancient, allegedly glorious era of the Jewish people in Palestine, and the modern Zionist project.

Fortaleza é uma cidade contrastante em sua conformação física e social, o que é evidenciado na sua segregação, seja de maneira imposta ou voluntária, de acordo com as diferentes classes sociais. Na tentativa de aprimorar o espaço público... more

Fortaleza é uma cidade contrastante em sua conformação física e social, o que é evidenciado na sua segregação, seja de maneira imposta ou voluntária, de acordo com as diferentes classes sociais. Na tentativa de aprimorar o espaço público e suas relações, decidiu-se realizar uma oficina de Placemaking para estudantes universitários em colaboração com moradores do entorno da Praça da Alvorada. A preparação desse evento contou com pesquisa sobre o tema principal e correlatos como Direito à Cidade e Urbanismo Tático. A oficina durou quatro dias, com debate de conceitos apresentados por agentes de transformação urbana-relevantes tanto aos alunos quanto aos moradores do local-, execução das ideias com base nas necessidades da população e por último uma celebração da experiência entre os colaboradores. Notou-se que os objetivos da oficina foram alcançados, causando mudanças no espaço físico da praça, fortalecendo a identidade e uso e incentivando a ação cidadã.

Design and Planning professionals have long been influenced by the belief in physically and spatially deterministic power over people and the environment, a belief that their representations of space become space. As a result the goal of... more

Design and Planning professionals have long been influenced by the belief in physically and spatially deterministic power over people and the environment, a belief that their representations of space become space. As a result the goal of design often becomes “fixing” or directing behavior and culture instead of letting culture happen. This outlook often prevents designers from engaging critically with culture, through representational space and spatial practice, as a crucial, possibly the most crucial, aspect in the design process. Just as human cultures interact to constantly reproduce and co-produce hybrid cultures, the professional designer and those users and experiencers of design (at whatever scale) must interact to co-produce spaces and places of activity. Through a critique of the practice of placemaking, we highlight the need to differentiate between participation and co-production. Understanding participation as one element of the design process and the role of design at l...

Design and Planning professionals have long been influenced by the belief in physically and spatially deterministic power over people and the environment, a belief that their representations of space become space. As a result the goal of... more

Design and Planning professionals have long been influenced by the belief in physically and spatially deterministic power over people and the environment, a belief that their representations of space become space. As a result the goal of design often becomes “fixing” or directing behavior and culture instead of letting culture happen. This outlook often prevents designers from engaging critically with culture, through representational space and spatial practice, as a crucial, possibly the most crucial, aspect in the design process. Just as human cultures interact to constantly reproduce and co-produce hybrid cultures, the professional designer and those users and experiencers of design (at whatever scale) must interact to co-produce spaces and places of activity. Through a critique of the practice of placemaking, we highlight the need to differentiate between participation and co-production. Understanding participation as one element of the design process and the role of design at l...

ABSTRACT The paper illustrates a Placemaking process developed in Potenza Municipality (Southern Italy), based on an interpretation of the theories by the French landscape architect Gilles Clément. A laboratory has been organized in a... more

ABSTRACT The paper illustrates a Placemaking process developed in Potenza Municipality (Southern Italy), based on an interpretation of the theories by the French landscape architect Gilles Clément. A laboratory has been organized in a residual area of the city, famous for an architectural monument, the bridge designed by Sergio Musmeci. The Internet allows a continuous online storytelling of work, creating citizens engagement on projects or choices and producing creativity and knowledge circulation. In this perspective "Garden in Motion" initiative produced new important processes for the community life, just like in Gilles Clément's "Garden in motion", where the processes of nature are favoured and spontaneous plants put in condition to grow and move freely.