Placemaking Week 2024

In this session we will explore the work of three projects that focus on place keeping as a tool for economic mobility, community development, and enhanced quality of life through arts, wellness, and space activation in Black communities. Each speaker will focus on the way in which they utilize creative place keeping to encourage the transformation of private spaces for public use and benefit through economic mobility, promote food access and wellness, and community planning in predominantly Black communities. Each speaker’s work focuses on projects in South Dallas (Texas), Third Ward (Houston, Texas), and Baltimore (Maryland) - all working directly and collaboratively with Black community advocates, Black community leaders, advocates, and city planning teams when possible. We will presenting tools, techniques, and creative ways for cultivating spaces through place keeping in Black communities for permanent activation. We are addressing the need for creative solutions that Black communities face as they are trying to create sustainable places that builds generational wealth. Through each speaker's work we will focus on creative ways to activate space, both public and private for public use/benefit, engagement techniques, engagement with city planners/city departments, and providing immediate active solutions that are community-led and community-driven.  We will focus on how to utilize financing/crowdfunding to activate space and cultivate spaces, community ownership, and place keeping as an urban planning tool.