Creative Placemaking
Creating parks, expressing culture, strengthening communities
The Trust for Public Land believes that there should be a great park within a ten-minute walk of every home, in every city in America. But great parks don't just happen. To succeed, they must reflect the communities they serve. Our Parks for People initiative infuses local planning, arts, and culture into the parks we create—a strategy known as Creative Placemaking.
Creative Placemaking is a cooperative, community-based process that leads to new and rejuvenated parks and open spaces that reflect local identity through arts and culture. It has five components: equity, arts and culture, community engagement, partnerships, and stewardship.
Benito Juarez Park
This new park in Los Angeles County’s most crowded and park-poor community is now a neighborhood icon created in the cultural vocabulary of its largely Mexican-American residents.
The 606
Chicago's 606 brings together three miles of elevated trails and six parks to create an urban oasis for recreation, art, and community.
Newark Riverfront Park
A brightly colored boardwalk, poetry-inscribed pathways, and lively way-finding installations welcome residents to their long-overlooked river and impart a powerful message of community renewal.
New Freedom Park
A cherished common ground where garden plots, a soccer field, shaded seating, and play spaces bring far-flung cultures together, as immigrant families put down roots in their new country.
