Placemaking MML

July 21, 2014

National League of Cities Conference in Portland

Last week the National League of Cities hosted their 2014 State League Staff Workshop in Portland, OR. Here, staff from state leagues around the country gathered to network, learn, and discuss emerging issues in the field. Presenting at the NLC…

July 14, 2014

Placemaking in Southwest Detroit

Last week, the League's Southwest Detroit PlacePlan project took an important step with a three-day charrette, a community-based design workshop. Southwest Detroit is known for great food, a lively atmosphere, and local art. Known as Mexicantown, Hispanic culture is evident…

July 3, 2014

Crowdfunding in Michigan

Michigan's new crowdfunding law allows residents to make financial investments in their community through a unique and innovative platform. Known as the Michigan Invests Locally Exemption (MILE), the structure provides investors a return on their investment through an ownership stake…

June 26, 2014

Making Place in Downtown Berkley

Berkley Art Bash attendees take a break on patio furniture rented by the placemaking committee. Kids share their ideas of what they'd like to see in the space. As part of the League's placemaking work, we recently partnered with the…

June 18, 2014

Detroit climbing up rankings in new evaluation of walkable urban places

This week, the LOCUS coalition of real estate professionals released "Foot Traffic Ahead: Ranking Walkable Urbanism in America's Largest Metros" at their Leadership Summit in Washington, DC. The report continues to track the sea change of residential market demand and…

June 13, 2014

Public Art Project Inspires, Energizes St. Joseph

Susan Solon beams with pride as she thumbs through a family photo album on her desk at St. Joseph City Hall. And it's not even her family. It's a photo album that the Belz family of Kalamazoo gave Solon, St.…

June 13, 2014

Congress for New Urbanism

Last week I attended Congress for New Urbanism's conference in Buffalo, NY and had a wonderful time learning about ideas, projects, and research on new urbanism and placemaking. Here are a few highlights from my favorite presentations: Jeff Speck: New…

May 29, 2014

Civic Engagement in Placemaking

Community engagement leaders met on May 20th at MML's Lansing office. Effective civic engagement is a key strategy for successful placemaking. It's important communities recognize that placemaking is both about the physical place AND the making of it. With strong…

May 23, 2014

Farmington’s Downtown Redevelopment

Although the effects of place projects may be less visible in large cities, projects in small-to-mid-sized cities, like Farmington, can initiate huge impacts on the economy, resident well-being, and connection to the community. For detailed information on Farmington's downtown redevelopments,…

May 19, 2014

Driving placemaking with mobile app data

Strava's heat map of bike/walk activity in Midland shows the popularity of that city's recreational trails--but surprisingly little bike/walk access to the major employment center. Fitness tracking app Strava recently began offering its data-millions of walking, jogging, and cycling trips…