Creating the Waterfront City of the Future

PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACESAnnapolis, Maryland August 25th, 2010

Placemaking Creating the Waterfront City of the Future or just a Great Market

PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES

“The blunt calculation by public officials that if they can’t make their downtowns and neighborhoods appealing, they can’t compete… all of these hinge on the deceptively simple challenge of creating places… that people intuitively like.” -- Governing Magazine

“Converging Ideas around Place”


Cities of the Future

Local Values and Assets Authentic and Public

Destinations Neighborhoods Placemaking leading to

Sustainability


50 U.S. States, 7 Canadian Provinces

40 Countries 2500 Communities 2 Million visitors to our web sites

(2008) 35,000 people get our electronic

newsletter

35 Years of Placemaking


Regions where Placemaking has Roots Singapore

South Korea Japan Hong Kong

Czech Republic Montenegro Serbia Kosovo Croatia Hungary Poland Slovakia Romania Bulgaria Georgia Armenia

Australia New Zealand

Netherlands Norway UK/ Scotland Italy

Mexico Colombia Argentina Chile Brazil St Kitts/Nevis

South Africa Tanzania Dubai Abu Dhabi

Canada Chicago Houston Los Angeles


PPS Program Areas and Transformative

AgendasProgram Areas:

• Transportation• Public Markets• Civic Centers • Parks• Downtowns• Mixed-Use Developments• Campuses • Squares • Waterfronts

Transformative Agendas:

Building Community Through Transportation

Public Markets and Local Economies

Community Anchors / Architecture of Place

Creating Public Multi-Use Destinations

William H. (Holly) Whyte The Organization Man,1956 The Exploding Metropolis, 1958 The Last Landscape, 1968 Plan for the City of New York, 1969 The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces,

1980 City: Rediscovering the Center, 1988



Museum of Modern Art - NYC

Blank walls are an end in themselves. They declare the supremacy of architecture over humanity, of a building over a person.


Benches are artifacts, the purpose of which is to punctuate architectural photographs. They are not so good for sitting.


“What attracts people most it would appear, is other people.”

One of the best things about water is the look and feel of it…It’s not right to put water before people and then keep them away from it.




If you want to seed a place with activity, put out food.

If no one wants to go out to the Park, no one is going to stop them. ─ Yogi Berra



It’s hard for people to realize that creating a place is more important than design. ─ PPS


The street is the river of life,the place where we come to together,

the pathway to the center.– William H. Whyte

What if we Built our Communities aroundHappiness and Community Wellbeing?

Comfort and Amenities






Overarching Ideas

Placemaking Process / The Community is the

Expert Convergence Benefits of Great Places Power of 10


Placemaking

When you focus on a place, you do everything differently.

What is Placemaking?

Placemaking is a dynamic human function: it is an act of liberation, of staking claim, and of beautification; it is true human empowerment.

Placemaking is turning a neighborhood, town or city from a place you can’t wait to get through to one you never want to leave.

Metropolitan Planning Council - Chicago

“Placemaking” is an overarching idea and a hands-on tool for improving a Neighborhood, City or Region. It has the potential to be one of the most transformative ideas of this century


What Makes a Great Place?


sociability uses & activities

access & linkages comfort & image

Welcoming

evening usevolunteerism

street life

transit usage

parking usage patternspedestrian activity

Walkable Convenient Accessible

Charm Clean Attractive

Historic

Safe

building conditionsenvironmental data

sanitation ratingcrime stats

Cooperative Neighborly

property valuesland-use patterns

retail sales

business ownership

Special Real

FunActive Vital

Connected

Key Attributes

Intangibles

Measurements

PLACE

Project/DisciplineDriven Approach

• Empowers Communities• Attracts partners, money

& creative solutions• Professionals become

resources• Design supports uses• Solutions are flexible• Engagement and

commitment grow

Pla

ce /

Com

mun

ity

Dri

ven

App

roac

h

Convergence



Environmental Sustainability

Civil Society/Democracy

Building Public Health and Community Livability

Community Development & Smart Growth

Energy & Consumption

Convergence of Movements

PLACES

Local Food Systems

Transportation & Land Use

Local Economies

Historic Preservation


Benefits of Good Places

Draws a More Diverse Population

•More women, elderly, and children •Greater ethnic & cultural pluralism•Support for wider range of activities &

uses•New service, retail and customer niches•Variation & character in built

environment• Instilled confidence to create one’s

reality

Fosters More Frequent & Meaningful Interaction

•Improved sociability•Cultural exposure & interaction•Exchange & preservation of

information, wisdom & values•Bolstered barter system•Reduced race & class barriers•Feeling of interconnection

Nurtures & Defines Community Identity•Greater community organization•Sense of dedication & volunteerism•Perpetuation of integrity & values•“Mutual coercion, mutually agreed-upon”•Reduced necessity for municipal control•Self-managing

Promotes Public Health & Comfort•Less crime•More outdoor physical activity•Generally stimulating•Sense of belonging•Improved environmental quality•Feeling of freedom and

limitlessness

Builds & Supports the Local Economy

• Small-scale entrepreneurship• More quality goods available• Higher real estate values• Local ownership, local value• More desirable jobs• Increased currency velocity• Greater tax revenue• Reduced need for municipal

services

Creates Improved Accessibility

•More walkable•Safe for pedestrians•Compatible with public transit•Reduced need for cars &

parking•More efficient use of time &

money•Visually attractive destinations•Greater connections between

uses

Place

Layering of uses to create synergy (Triangulation) = District


Region/City/Town/

NeighborhoodDestination

s

Place

10+ destinations

10+ places

10+ things to do

Power of 10

Power of 10 Destinations 1980

Power of 10 Destinations Today


Singapore - 10 Sites



6. Sit and relax

1. Read the paper

8. Take a break from a bike ride

3. Learn about upcoming events

2. Window shopping for books

4. Go inside!

10. Have a conversation

7. Read someone else’s book

5. Walk

9. Pet a dog

Power of 10


Qualities of Great Waterfront Destinations

Access and Linkage

Edge Uses

Attractions & Destinations

Identity & Image

Amenities

Water Uses

Flexibility in Design

Seasonal Strategy

Place Management

Diverse Funding Sources

Reach out like an octopus


Edge Uses

Gateways and entrances

Focal points



Attractions & Destinations

Choices of things to do

Triangulation opportunities

Clustered activity around destinations

10+ places

Creating Great Civic Spaces


Identity & Image

Iconic Features Historic highlights



Amenities Attracts cross-section of users Source of local/regional civic

pride Comfortable places to sit Food and markets


Water Uses

Multiple ways of using or touching water

Water Play Fountains pools


PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACESPROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES




Flexible Design Overlapping and

changing uses Event Spaces Experiment


Seasonal Strategies Amusement

Features Public Gardens Seasonal Markets Antique Boat Show Cultural Festivals



Place Management

Management through: Security/Maintenance Programming Events Managing Destinations Providing Amenities


Diverse Funding Base

•Public support•Private sponsorship•Broad partnerships

Security -- City Funding

23%

Facility - Parks

Department6%

Event Rentals18%

Tenant Leases

24%

In Kind Donations

17%

Event Sponsorships

12%



Access and Linkage

Connected to adjacent areas

Range of transportation options


Reach out Like an Octopus


Great Public Spaces: Las Ramblas


Helsinki Waterfront

Voxholm, Sweden

Case Study: Bergen Harbor

Bergen Waterfront

A

B C

D

E

F

Stavanger Waterfront

Case Study: Granville Island


Historic Context Canada Mortgage & Housing

Corporation (CMHC) began managing the Island in 1973

Government of Canada invests $19.7-million to renew buildings and infrastructure

Private investors invited to participate in rehabilitation of various buildings

Public Market opens in 1979


Economic Impact

Annual Economic Activity $215-million

Current Employment - 3,000 employed in 267 businesses

Tax Receipts (1982 to 2006): $393-million



Placemaking Workshop – Recommendations

Create a series of places throughout Granville Island

Improve / develop each of these spaces in partnership with tenants

Improve access to the Island through better connections

Develop new uses that will attract people in off-peak times


Vancouver Forum on Multi-Use Public Destinations, June 2010 Public multi-use destinations like Granville Island have proven to be most

successful, and we should replicate them more often. Why do we spend so much money on new developments that don’t work and that don’t attract people?

-Don’t lead with design. The design of multi-use destinations should be to create a “setting” for the uses that are occurring and that emphasize the products and the authentic aspects of the place.

-The importance of government learning to say “yes” to new ideas and developing stronger more trusting relationships with the non-profit and private sector.

-“If you think you’re done, you’re finished” – Developing spaces that are flexible and that “manage themselves.” In other words, ongoing and innovative management is key to create vibrant multi-use destinations.

-“The magic is in the mix.” We are moving beyond the simple concept of “mixed use” toward a technique of development that builds authentic places through establishing settings and uses that are intimately related, interconnected and interdependent. True sustainability comes from the relationships between uses, tenants, and the organizations within a place.

-Find creative funding strategies to keep rents low, attract a range of tenants and incentivize the presence of tenants who may not produce a lot of money for the site, but who bring a lot of foot traffic and are invested in the area.


Munich Victualmarkt


Placemaking and Transportation:

Streets as Places


If we can develop and design streets so that they are wonderful, fulfilling places to be—community-building places, attractive for all people—then we will have successfully designed about one-third of the city directly and will have had an immense impact on the rest.

-- ALAN JACOBS


When you design your community around cars and traffic …you get more cars and traffic.


“The only way to make a busy road intersection safe is to make it feel dangerous.”

Shared Streets

STREETS AS PLACES

Drachten, Holland

PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACESSTREETS AS PLACES




“If you want vehicles to behave like they are in a village, build a village.”

"Essentially, what it means is a transfer of power and responsibility from the state to the individual and the community.

-Hans MondermanSTREETS AS PLACES


ActualCrashes

STREETS AS PLACES


When you design your community around people and places … you get more people and places.

Characteristics of Great Public Spaces


• Good places breed healthy activity.

• People attract people attract people.

• When you focus on place, you do everything differently.

• It takes many disciplines and skills to create a place.

• It takes a community to create a place.

• Amenities that make a place comfortable are critical.

• You can’t know what you are going to end up with.

• Each place has its own identity.

• You can’t have anything less than excellence.

• You have to have zealous nuts.

• It has to be a…


It has to be a Campaign

Developa vision

Become greatcommunicators

Search for impediments

Organize astrong team

AttackComplacency

Produce short term

wins

Take on bigger

challenges

Connect change to the culture

of the community

People Who Make Dramatic Change By John Kotter

Corpus Christi, Texas

Case Study: Balboa Park, San Diego

Placemaking - Creating Balboa Park of the Future


What if we Built the Waterfront around Places?

How private can a public space be? How public can a private Space be? What is privatization? When is privatization excessive? How can we create destinations and

then connect them?

Upcoming PPS Conference

www.pps.org

www.pps.orgMaking Places

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Creating the Waterfront City of the Future