Though your mail gets delivered to Dolton, Tinley Park, or Lansing, chances are you consider “home” to be much broader – a mental map of all of the great places you visit, whether once a week or on special occasions, in the south suburbs and throughout Chicagoland. That’s because places define our lives, by inspiring us, relaxing us, or encouraging us to sit and talk awhile with our neighbors. Your favorite place may not be anything special to the outside observer. The experiences you have there make that place meaningful to you.
Creating more places in the region where people can have great experiences is the idea behind Placemaking, an approach to community planning that starts with neighborhood residents and businesses creating a vision for a public space, and then working together to make that vision a reality. The approach has been perfected over three decades by a national organization called Project for Public Spaces, and is being encouraged and piloted locally by the Metropolitan Planning Council via PlacemakingChicago.com.
This time of year, it’s easy to see organic Placemaking across the region. Farmers markets are a great example. In quiet parks, empty parking lots, and even on local streets, farmers markets pop up to bring fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables to neighborhoods and communities – but many of these markets are so much more than a collection of produce stands. They bring neighbors and strangers together to enjoy good food, live music, and educational and family-friendly events.
Being a powerful Placemaker doesn’t require anything nearly so elaborate as organizing a farmers market. It can start with a group of neighbors putting a bench and a pot of flowers on the sidewalk between their front yards. Simply providing people with somewhere comfortable to rest and mingle with their neighbors can ignite a feeling of community, according to Jay Walljasper, author of The Great Neighborhood Book, a tome filled with stories of Placemaking’s transformative power in communities around the world.
Even that communal bench satisfies the four key attributes of successful places - a variety of uses, a distinct image and sense of comfort, easy accessibility, and a means of encouraging social interaction.
Placemaking also can have positive ripple effects for homeowners and communities beyond the specific space. When a public space becomes a place where people can interact, a sense of community develops, crime is deterred, and people get the urge to volunteer and participate in cultural activities. Involving residents in creating a public space sets off a virtuous cycle; people tend to feel a personal investment in the space and are more likely to help sustain or improve the area. This virtuous cycle translates into a more attractive – and more economically vibrant – neighborhood.
Ultimately, that’s what Placemaking is all about: encouraging existing local residents to create public spaces where people feel safe, happy, and a sense of belonging – all of which can start with a single good idea.
Learn more about Placemaking in Chicago at http://www.placemakingchicago.com/.
What's the Best Place in the South Suburbs
Now is your chance to nominate your favorite south suburban place as Chicagoland’s best.
From June 3 to July 27, 2009, enter the “What Makes Your Place Great?” contest by sending us original photographs or videos of your favorite public space in the south suburbs or across Chicagoland. Together with a 250-word-or-less description, your photos or videos should describe why this place is special to you and how it adds to your community.
Placemaking Chicago’s Review Panel will then select Photo Finalists and Video Finalists to move on to the final judging. Two winners will be chosen in each category; a panel of judges will choose one Grand Prize winner from each category, and the public will vote via PlacemakingChicago.com from Aug. 10 to Sept. 14, 2009, to select the People’s Choice winner in each category. Winners will receive prizes and the chance to tell the stories of their favorite places at a Metropolitan Planning Council event in Chicago in October.
