PlaceCity - Placemaking for Sustainable, Thriving Cities

The PlaceCity project had the overarching goal of establishing a multidisciplinary and transsectorial Placemaking Network with the capacity to offer support and resources to local and national placemaking initiatives across Europe and advance placemaking as a new approach to creating better cities together. During the project the consortium managed to a) consolidate the European Placemaking network that offers constructive tools and strategies to local placemaking practitioners, b) establish the European Placemaking toolbox which is an open-source collection of tools manuals and handbooks for all to learn from and make their own communities more livable and inclusive, and c) establish strong networks for placemaking in each of the case study countries (Oslo and Vienna) and d) advance placemaking as a fundamental measure for urban development and renewal in Oslo and Vienna by working with civil society actors, civil servants from the public sector, entrepreneurs, artists, students and researchers. For the study case in Oslo, Grønland was chosen for the variety of social and economic challenges displayed in the area. The main goal was to empower at-risk youth from Hersleb high school, an inner-city school located in Grønland to create meeting places and activities in their schoolyard for neighbors, fellow students and other young people from the area. Through placemaking and creative participatory methods, the students themselves identified and mapped needs, challenges, wishes and ideas for the space among fellow students, teachers and neighbours. Based on these findings, students and other young people tested and implemented placemaking interventions at the schoolyard and the neighboring street that contributed to create positive, livable and inclusive meeting places and activities for the entire neighborhood. The main outcomes and highlights of the case study in Oslo are: a) empowering and mentoring youth to become active placemakers in their communities. b) a more liveable and safe schoolyard for students and local residents, c) a strong and long-lasting (international and local) network, and d) the Oslo placemaking toolbox to respond to the local challenges, with publications collecting best placemaking practices and sustainable business models in Oslo, lessons learned during the project and placemaking tool manuals.

Through PlaceCity Project, placemaking has grown in its impact to connect placemakers, as well as pushing the methodological underpinnings of the field working on the local and European level. By publishing open-source and user-friendly digital tools, the project advantageously highlighted local Placemaking Heroes, thereby garnering interest in their work with the surrounding network, and bringing forward their tools and practices. Considering our multitude of international webinars and articles, we have pushed the concept of placemaking on the global level. Specific to Oslo and Vienna, the local municipalities added to their city-wide strategy with enhanced citizen participation during the project. The cities have improved their understanding of the placemaking concept compared to the initial start. Placemaking brings forth more accessible public services that empower citizens to co-create places together and impact the cities approach to development, regeneration and gentrification.

«PlaceCity- placemaking for sustainable, thriving cities» is a practitioner-led consortium which has as its overarching goal the establishment of a multidisciplinary and trans-sectorial European Placemaking Network as an entity with the capacity to offer support and resources to local and national placemaking initiatives across Europe. The consortium aims to advance placemaking as a new approach to creating better cities together. The consortium aims to gather placemaking tools and implement those tools in the partner’s cities. The aim of implementation is not merely to test the tools but also to establish sustainable business cases for placemaking in local contexts. To achieve this we work together with a combination of local partners (cities, communities, businesses) as well as partners at a higher level (knowledge partners, governments etc).Thus, the consortium will develop itself as a knowledge platform that with a direct connection to the implementation of that knowledge. The final results of this project will be: A) a consolidated European network for placemaking that offers constructive tools and strategies to local placemaking practitioners. B) a network for placemaking in each of the involved JPI countries. C/ Implementation of toolbox in sustainable business cases