Livable Lesson Videos: Placemaking with Andrew Howard Livability in Action

Livable Lesson Placemaking

Public spaces planner Andrew Howard explains what makes a successful place and how communities can and sometimes should implement placemaking projects despite the COVID-19 pandemic

Photo Courtesy Team Better Block Andrew Howard spray-painting a crosswalk for a demonstration placemaking project. What makes a community distinctive? What makes a location a destination? How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed public places? AARP and TEAM BETTER BLOCK This tool kit is also a recipe book with step-by-step instructions and supply lists for several placemaking projects. Order or download , a free information- and photo-filled publication by AARP Livable Communities and Team Better Block. "Placemaking" — sometimes referred to as "Placekeeping"— refers to the planning and implementation work that makes a location a place where people want to be and spend time in. Placemaking results in places that distinguish a community or destination as being unique or attractive. Placemaking also involves making a location safe, walkable and, often, thriving and economically successful. , founder of (a design firm) and director of placemaking at (a public infrastructure and real estate development firm) answers questions and explains the in’s and out’s of placemaking — both during the pandemic and in "normal" times. Howard is a pioneer of "pop-up demonstrations," a process of temporarily re-engineering auto-dominated, blighted or underused urban areas to show how they can become vibrant destinations. Working in more than 150 communities around the world, the "pop-up" methodology (also called "tactical urbanism") is transforming urban planning, community outreach and public space design. Watch each of the two subject-specific videos below — or scroll down to see both segments in one video.

Videos

Lesson 1 What Makes a Successful Place

Any community can combine the three core elements of placemaking — something to do, somewhere to sit, and something to eat and drink — in order to create a vibrant public place that inspires people to gather. Such projects increase safety, health outcomes and economic investment.

Lesson 2 Placemaking During a Pandemic

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for people to safely gather, the core tenets of placemaking are a key to economic and societal recovery during this unprecedented time.

Placemaking 101

Watch both videos with a single click.

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The videos on this page were created by an external organization so might not reflect AARP’s public policies or advocacy positions, which can be found in the . The videos were filmed in 2020 Page published February 2021

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