The Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-it-Yourself Guide to Placemaking

Front Cover
New Society Publishers, Jun 1, 2007 - Social Science - 192 pages

Abandoned lots and litter-strewn pathways, or rows of green beans and pockets of wildflowers? Graffiti-marked walls and desolate bus stops, or shady refuges and comfortable seating? What transforms a dingy, inhospitable area into a dynamic gathering place? How do individuals take back their neighborhood?

Neighborhoods decline when the people who live there lose their connection and no longer feel part of their community. Recapturing that sense of belonging and pride of place can be as simple as planting a civic garden or placing some benches in a park.

The Great Neighborhood Book explains how most struggling communities can be revived, not by vast infusions of cash, not by government, but by the people who live there. The author addresses such challenges as traffic control, crime, comfort and safety, and developing economic vitality. Using a technique called "placemaking"-- the process of transforming public space -- this exciting guide offers inspiring real-life examples that show the magic that happens when individuals take small steps, and motivate others to make change.

This book will motivate not only neighborhood activists and concerned citizens but also urban planners, developers and policy-makers.

 

Selected pages

Contents

Introduction
1
Feeling Right at Home
9
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
33
Going Places
53
Keeping Peace in the Streets
75
Where the Action Is
95
Greening the Neighborhood
111
Pride in Your Place
131
Getting Things Done
151
About the Author
175
Copyright

Other editions - View all

The Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-it-Yourself Guide to Placemaking
Jay Walljasper,Project for Public Spaces
Limited preview - 2007

Common terms and phrases

activist American backyard become bench bike block bocce borhood buildings California cars celebration Christopher Alexander citizens city hall City Repair Project city’s coffee Cohousing create crime David Engwicht downtown Dudley Street efforts environmental farmers market feel folks front yard green guerrilla gardening hood idea improve Jan Gehl Jane Jacobs Jim Diers kids Kingfield Larimer Square live look Lyndale main street ment Minneapolis munity National Night nearby neigh neighborhood neighborhood of Minneapolis neighbors nity North Philadelphia offer organization park Pattern Language pedestrian people’s percent Placemaking police problems Project for Public Public Spaces Ray Oldenburg residents RESOURCES revitalization Seattle sense of community shops social spot Square stories stroll suburbs there’s things tion town traffic calming transit transportation trees urban Village walking Washington WaterFire what’s going www.pps.org York’s

About the author (2007)

Jay Walljasper is a Senior Fellow of Project for Public Spaces (PPS), whose mission is to create and sustain enriching public places that build communities. He is a former editor of Utne Reader and currently Executive Editor of Ode Magazine.

Project For Public Spaces (PPS) is an internationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities. PPS has worked in over 2000 communities in 47 states and 26 countries to improve parks, markets, streets, transit stations, libraries and countless other places. They have deeply influenced the way cities and towns approach public space.

Bibliographic information

TitleThe Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-it-Yourself Guide to Placemaking
AuthorsJay Walljasper, Project for Public Spaces (PPS)
PublisherNew Society Publishers, 2007
ISBN1550923420, 9781550923421
Length192 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Social Science / Sociology / Urban
  
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