Only a few years ago, demand for cities in the U.S. appeared stronger than ever, led in part by a resurgence of downtowns. But the COVID-19 pandemic and other disruptions have engendered fears of spiraling urban decline and shaken public confidence in cities. Both a call to action and an introduction to a new research and engagement project, this report by Tracy Hadden Loh and Hanna Love confronts the common misconceptions and pessimistic outlooks on U.S. cities. The authors invite readers to reexamine the importance of these places and reimagine the possibilities for shared prosperity across downtowns and surrounding communities.
Today, city leaders and members of the public fear that U.S. cities—and urban downtowns in particular—are succumbing to rampant crime and disorder. However, as the Bass Center’s Hanna Love and Tracy Hadden Loh observe in their latest report on downtown safety, municipal and hyperlocal data simply do not support the common (mis)perception of where and how much crime is occurring in cities. On-the-ground realities are more complicated than news coverage or political rhetoric would suggest, and the authors advise city leaders to pursue equitable, evidence-based approaches that can address both crime and feelings of unease in their communities.
Across the country, the cost burden on homebuyers and renters—especially young adult, senior, and BIPOC residents—remains high, even as many hot, pandemic-era housing markets cool. For many poor and historically Black neighborhoods, such as Mantua in West Philadelphia, the accumulating pressures of racial segregation, resident aging, underfinancing, and gentrification are converging. In this Placemaking Postcard, members of Drexel University’s community-based Writers Room describe their efforts to address these challenges with a university-community housing cooperative aimed at helping low-income residents access affordable housing and rental options through an intergenerational home-sharing collective.
The role of music in placemaking. Cities have a notorious reputation for the cacophony of sounds that characterize daily urban life. Amid the hustle and bustle, though, music provides opportunities not only for economic value creation, but also for community-building and enhancing quality of life. On February 23, the Bass Center’s Jennifer S. Vey moderated a panel of musicians, advocates, and practitioners for a conversation about local music economies and their positive—even transformative—roles in contemporary placemaking.
Innovations in hyperlocal urban governance. Hyperlocal governance structures—such as community land trusts, business improvement districts, and neighborhood cooperatives—can be vital partners in addressing racial, economic, and geographic inequalities. But they can also serve the interests of some stakeholders over others. In this March 9 webinar, Jennifer S. Vey joined scholars and practitioners to discuss how communities are affecting greater connectedness, vibrancy, and justice through the production, delivery, and management of community-based resources. The discussion covered themes from "Hyperlocal: Place Governance in a Fragmented World" (Brookings Institution Press), and "Co-Cities: Innovative Transitions toward Just and Self-Sustaining Communities" (MIT Press).
Edited by Jennifer S. Vey and Nate Storring, this book explores the role of place governance in today’s increasingly fragmented and inequitable economic landscape. Its eight chapters discuss how, why, and for whom place governance matters, and highlight practices and models for creating more connected, vibrant, and inclusive communities.
Did you know that children typically spend around 80% of their time awake each day outside of the classroom? According to a 2020 report by Jennifer S. Vey and Helen Shwe Hadani, those hours give children opportunities for informal and play-based learning, relationship-building, and personal growth. Communities across the globe are facilitating and scaling opportunities for playful learning in the public realm by combining the science of learning with urban design and placemaking.
What we’re reading
Amid change, communities are reimagining what their public spaces are and what they can do. Reimagining the Civic Commons—a network of local governments, nonprofits, foundations, and community groups—kicked off the spring season by releasing their latest impact report, "The Power of the Commons: Impact and Opportunity in America’s Public Spaces." The report surveys effective community-centered initiatives across five U.S. cities that have participated in their "reimaging" initiative: Akron, Ohio; Chicago; Detroit; Memphis, Tenn.; and Philadelphia. These cities’ respective efforts—which include bicycle and kayak rental programs, art classrooms and public murals, living-wage employment partnerships, home rehabilitation initiatives, and other co-created and co-stewarded communal assets—have yielded a range of positive impacts. Together, they illustrate the importance of collaborating with local community members, private firms, and public agencies; bridging social and organizational silos through communication; and pursuing collective visions and problem-solving processes that create value for everyone.
Other cities are also making news for reimagining and readapting public spaces. A recent New York Times article profiled the work of local nonprofit Street Lab, which brings family-friendly pop-ups to trafficless and traffic-limited "open streets" across New York for impromptu play and gatherings—supporting a variety of "ready-made activities" with mobile bookcases, "nature stations," chalk art stations, and other supplies for enriching play, expression, and socializing. And per a March guest blog at Project for Public Spaces, Indianapolis’ artist-led Big Car Collaborative is not only bringing live music and curated playlists to communities citywide, but also engaging those communities in reimagining their shared soundscape. Aware of both the stressful and healing power of sound, Big Car Collaborative is collaborating to turn social spaces around Indianapolis into “a little respite amid the sensory overload.”
Women deserve a greater voice in placemaking, urban design, and governance. In March, scholars at the Bass Center honored Women’s History Month by reflecting on the progress of, and future opportunities for, women in placemaking and place governance. Too often, women and genderqueer people struggle to live and shape historically male-dominated places. "Who Makes Planning Choices?"—an April report from the Urban Institute—explored the diversity and community representation of land-use decisionmaking bodies across 482 local jurisdictions from the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. In addition to disparities in representation by race, land tenure, and employment, the report’s authors find that among the 601 land-use bodies surveyed, men are overrepresented on average by more than 20 percentage points compared to ciswomen (with no representation of transgender or nonbinary people in any place).
That said, many American communities and placemaking bodies are working to affect positive change for women. An October 2022 report from Arup, the United Nations Development Programme, and the University of Liverpool detailed obstacles that women face in urban design, but also how cities and communities have begun to successfully center and include women in their placemaking practices. For example, Jersey City, N.J. converted out-of-use school buses into "Health Buses"—mobile respites for unhoused women to shower, wash clothes, use clean restrooms, receive medical care and social services, access the internet, and safely rest during the day. This WBEZ Chicago piece offered another example of women engaging in communal placemaking, highlighting the Southwest Side community’s successful effort to reopen a lesbian bar and dance club that provides a unique safe place for local Latino or Hispanic and queer women.
