What is Placemaking?

"Placemaking is an evocative, pleasing, inspiring word heard more and more these days to describe grassroots efforts for revitalizing public spaces. Unfortunately some developers and designers also apply the word to soulless commercial, housing or resort projects in the hopes of hoodwinking people into thinking these developments will enhance the local sense of place. Project for Public Spaces has helped popularize the word during 35 years of Placemaking work around the world, yet we make no ownership claims to it—language belongs to everyone just the same as a park or city street. Nonetheless we wince at seeing the phrase used for narrowly commercial or patently false purposes. Placemaking is a powerful idea, around which a social movement is beginning to emerge. Implicit in this phrase is a sense that citizens must be involved in shaping the places where they live, work and play".