Do you ever walk by a vacant storefront and imagine what you could do with it? Vacant storefronts can often lead to downtowns that are dull, lead to social isolation in communities, and hamper economic development. CultureHouse uses placemaking methodologies to work with communities to transform vacant storefronts into pop-up community spaces that support climate action, neighborhood health, and social justice by bringing people together to determine the future of their neighborhoods. CultureHouse projects result in direct community impacts that influence societal changes. Our projects have created an eight-fold growth in pedestrian traffic on weekends in Kendall Square, a supportive platform for BIPOC creatives in Salem, and a 60% increase in positive perceptions of downtown Peabody. Our work builds crisis resilience by offering places that foster mutual aid, increase livability by creating vibrant centers for public life, and promote equitable development by encouraging individuals to be active participants in reimagining their neighborhood’s future. This session will be an interactive workshop where attendees will go through and engage with our five-step process to create a community pop-up: research, community engagement, design/build, operation, and impact reporting. Attendees will be able to use this format to dive deep into the process, take inspiration from past projects, and be equipped with a quite of tools they can use in their communities.
