The Best Part of Placemaking Isn't the Places

What Detroit Had to Teach During International Placemaking Week and why the people behind our communities continue to inspire me. 

Having International Placemaking Week in Detroit made this year's conference especially meaningful.

Our City Institute team had the opportunity to help welcome hundreds of placemakers from around the world by organizing 13 mobile workshops throughout the city, leading the opening Downtown Detroit walking tour, and contributing through my workshop and closing presentation.

Through our involvement, we had the chance to introduce visitors to the people, neighborhoods, and projects that are shaping Detroit today and create opportunities for conversations that simply couldn't happen inside a conference room.

Of course there were great sessions and inspiring projects. But what I'll remember most are the people.

Placemaking people are my people. They're curious, generous with their ideas, and deeply committed to making their communities better. Whether they're from a town of 5,000 people or a major city halfway around the world, they all believe places become stronger when we invest in people, public spaces, and local leadership.

Getting Out Into the City

One of my favorite experiences was co-leading the Innovative Uses for Vacant Land mobile workshop with Tanya Stephens.

Together, we visited Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, Arboretum Detroit and the Heidelberg Project. Three places that couldn't be more different, but each one started with people who looked at vacant land and saw possibility instead.

I loved watching people's reactions throughout the day. There were so many great questions and conversations as participants connected what they were seeing in Detroit to opportunities back home.

That's one of my favorite things about Detroit. Instead of waiting for perfect conditions, we get creative with what we have. Some of our most inspiring places exist because residents, artists and community leaders decided to start where they were and build from there.

Sometimes the best classroom isn't a conference room at all. It's walking through a neighborhood with the people who know it best.

Sharing Ideas

I also had the opportunity to lead the closing workshop for the conference called How to Do Place-Based Storytelling: A Practical Workshop for Community Leaders.

We spent time talking about something I've become really passionate about over the last twenty years: helping communities uncover the stories that already exist around them.

Together we dived into how storytelling can help people better understand where they live, support small businesses, strengthen civic pride and create stronger connections to place. Participants mapped community assets, challenged common assumptions about their cities and started thinking about experiences they could create back home.

My hope is everyone left with at least one idea they can put into action.

I also had the opportunity to give a PechaKucha presentation (a fast-paced, seven-minute talk.) It's amazing how much you can (and can't!) fit into seven minutes. I focused on an idea that’s been the core development of City Institute for the past 20 years. 

Every community has assets. Every community has a value proposition. Sometimes the challenge isn't creating a better story. It's helping the people who already live there recognize the one that's already there.

My Biggest Takeaway

People often ask me why I enjoy speaking at conferences so much.

The answer is simple…I learn just as much as I share.

Every city is different. Detroit shouldn't try to become Portland. Portland shouldn't try to become Detroit. But we can absolutely learn from one another.

Whether the conversation is about vacant land, public spaces, downtowns, storytelling or community engagement, there is always an idea worth bringing home.

There are also relationships worth building. Some of my favorite collaborations have started with a conversation after a session, on a bus ride during a mobile workshop or over coffee between presentations.

The best part of placemaking isn't the places. It's the people who care enough to make them better.

Looking Ahead

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year's conference possible from the organizers and fellow speakers to the community leaders who welcomed us into their neighborhoods.

And thank you to everyone who joined one of our mobile workshops, attended a session or stopped to continue the conversation afterward.

I came home with pages of notes, new ideas to explore and even more optimism about the future of our cities.

I can't wait to see what everyone builds next.

“The best part of placemaking isn’t the places. It’s the people who care enough to make them better.”