Placemaking Week 2024

Creating a unique and quality experience in the public realm has become an essential economic development tool for commercial corridors and main streets across the country. Quality public spaces and events can attract new audiences downtown, create places that get visitors to stay and shop, and act as a welcoming front door where shoppers engage with local businesses. This session will explore the work of three different downtown organizations, with an examination of the challenges and opportunities they face, and how they are designing, managing, and programming their public realms to engage new audiences and drive foot traffic and sales to local small businesses. Each organization leads placemaking efforts that drive economic development downtown, and is using placemaking to address different challenges: In Downtown Camden, NJ, the Camden Special Services District (CSSD) has developed a placemaking plan to leverage four underutilized corners that create a strong sense of place that can attract office workers, visitors to regional attractions, and residents. In Macon, GA, NewTown Macon continues to focus on programming their unique public spaces (a new plaza on former roadway, a series of green medians) to reach new audiences and drive sales for local businesses. In South Philadelphia, the Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation is working to renovate key public spaces on the corridor to better support a wider range of events, while simultaneously trying new special events to engage more fully with neighbors in the surrounding community and create economic value for the corridor’s businesses. While each of these places have seen their share of success, the work of commercial corridor management never stays static, and this session will be a chance to hear from three different communities in different contexts about how they are using placemaking to increase foot traffic and support small businesses.