Placemaking and Politics- Like Peanut Butter and Hand Grenades
“We can’t wait until 2019. I won’t be open by then.” Those were the words of a small business owner at a recent event in West Branch when representatives of the Michigan Department of Transportation...
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In Detroit this Sunday? Check out the Marche du Nain Rouge
Come join Detroit’s best “pop-up” parade! “Come purge the bad and rejoice the beginning of spring! March 24, 2013in the Cass Corridor, 1 p.m. Detroit · marchedunainrouge.com” Check out my EoP post...
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America’s Top Small Town ArtPlaces 2013
I have consistently stated in this blog that placemaking isn’t just for big cities. A great example of how arts and culture impact quality of place is today’s announcement from our friends at ArtPlace...
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A Big Week in Michigan
UPDATE 4/11/13: The League’s Capital Conference was an interesting event. I have not seen, in my time working with communities, so many really unhappy local officials with the direction of the state...
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Small Town Placemaking, Economic Growth on Display
Spring in Sault Ste Marie Tuesday, I am fortunate to be the keynote at the ninth annual Small Town and Rural Development Conference. Sometimes I think we place so much emphasis on community building in...
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The Prosperity Agenda: What’s Old Is New Again – The Value of Repurposing...
A key to restoring economic prosperity in Michigan is creating the kinds of communities where people want to live. One way we do that is by repurposing or utilizing again buildings and infrastructure...
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Small Towns and Placemaking- Building an Entrepreneurial Culture from the...
Here is another piece that I will share from my uber-talented colleague Liz Shaw. Liz recently attended the kick-off event for Jonesville Soup, a hyper local crowd sourcing event in a small town in...
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We’re Not Dead, We’re Just Pacing Ourselves
Can we please stop declaring places dead? As a Detroit native- declared by many observers to be dead- it irks me to no end. As someone who works everyday with the cities of Flint (also declared dead),...
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‘Love Muskegon’ a Study in Community Pride, Resilience
The ‘Love Muskegon’ Banner Here is a great example of what a handful of committed individuals can do in a community when they put their minds (and bodies) into it. Here’s the recipe for success: Start...
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Updates on Placemaking and Rethinking Cities from the ‘Future of Places’...
Stockholm, Sweden I am in Stockholm, Sweden this week with 200+ others from around the world attending the Future of Places conference, a forum established to transform places through placemaking and...
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Two Novel Approaches for Building Great Outdoor Places
It is summertime so let’s talk about the great outdoors and how communities of all shapes and sizes are using placemaking techniques to build capacity in public spaces. Below are two great case...
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‘Place Plans’ provide great “how-to” guides for Cities and Placemakers
From www.mml.org Successful placemaking is not about implementing a “one size fits all” step-by-step method that works in every situation. It is a dynamic, strategic approach to economic...
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City, Village Leaders Gather in Detroit
The Renaissance Center in Detroit, site of the MML Convention The Michigan Municipal League will be in Detroit all week for its annual convention. There will be a number of eye opening events that...
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MSU, MSHDA, League Team Up Again on MiPlace Partnership
We at the Michigan Municipal League are excited about the opportunities to partner with the state of Michigan, Michigan State University, business leaders and civic groups on the ‘MiPlace’ Initiative....
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New Podcast to Focus on Urbanism, Michigan
For those of you interested in cities, urbanism, placemaking, and Michigan make sure that you check out the new podcast page from the Michigan Municipal League. “Better Communities. Better Michigan....
View ArticleToday’s Cities Require Leveraging at Every Level
The concept of ‘Scale’ is important in the business world. A breakthrough product doesn’t have an impact until its maker conceives of a way to deliver the product to users at a high enough volume to...
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3,000 City Leaders, National League of Cities Storm Seattle
I am in Seattle this week attending the National League of Cities (NLC) annual conference. There are a number of very interesting topics on the agenda. I will be adding to this blog throughout the week...
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League, Partners to Bring Placemaking, Economic Strategies to 8 Michigan...
I am really excited about the work being done in Michigan around re-energizing our economy through quality place-based strategies and practices. Cities, as we know, play an enormous role in...
View ArticlePPS Asks, “What If We Reinvented Civic Infrastructure Around Placemaking?”
“The future of thriving and resilient cities is not led by sustaining or innovating around infrastructure and services, but by building the capacity of communities to drive their own shared value–to...
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Read About Placemaking Until Your Heart Is Content
Here are two great publications about placemaking and economic growth in the Great Lakes region. The Review goes in-depth on strategies and advancements in Michigan.The Michigan Municipal League’s...
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