Placemaking Week 2024

This Fireside Chat brings together outdoor leaders from Pigtown Climbs and other catalytic organizations in the DMV area, such as the National Aquarium, and Black People Ride Bikes. We believe that the outdoors are for everyone, yet there is a history of Black & Brown communities and other underrepresented folks not having access to greenspace. We’ll be exploring the pivotal question: How do we reimagine placemaking in the outdoors to be accessible and inclusive?  Connecting people to the outdoors calls on us to build meaningful relationships that allow for vulnerability and exploration. Pigtown Climbs will share insights as a neighbor-led initiative, walking through first-hand experiences behind grassroots efforts in outdoor placemaking. Learning from the historical context of outdoor spaces and greenspace in Baltimore, we’ll explore how these initiatives have the power to reconnect Black and Brown communities to greenspaces. Leaders will share specific practices fostering inclusivity and designing ‘with’, not ‘for’, underrepresented communities. They’ll share their methods to successful relationship-based partnerships within and beyond the outdoor sphere needed to bridge city-life to the outdoors.  This session is designed for those passionate about stewarding outdoor spaces more inclusively, and those curious about placemaking in the outdoors. Find a seat around the fire!