Created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Times Square Arts presented Messages for the City in partnership with Poster House, PRINT Magazine, and For Freedoms. First debuted on April 17, 2020, this Times Square and citywide public art campaign featured artist-designed PSAs and messages of love, gratitude, and solidarity with New York City’s health care and essential workers.
Placemaking
Sub Topics: Placemaking
O2: Outdoor Office
Rosslyn, Virginia is a community of over 25,000 employees and 15,000 residents who work or live in the buildings that make up Arlington’s iconic skyline along the Potomac River. Dozens of large, top-tier companies like Nestle, Microsoft, Deloitte and Gartner call Rosslyn home, so when the pandemic hit, the Rosslyn BID quickly began re-envisioning the future of work in Rosslyn, not only for employees, but the Rosslyn residents that were now working from home.
Street Show Artists Unite for Justice
Street Show Artists Unite for Justice was a virtual expansion of our street performance program that produced live streaming shows from our regular slate of street performers, as well as specially recorded and edited “Street Show Gems” that were taped at quintessential locations throughout downtown Minneapolis. Following George Floyd’s killing, all artist payments were matched by Mpls DID contributions to social justice organizations selected by the participating artists.
Bethesda Streetery
Bethesda Urban Partnership (BUP) unveiled the “Bethesda Streetery” in June 2020 as an economic recovery response during the COVID-19 pandemic. The open-air eatery featured an outdoor seating design with tables and chairs placed on closed streets in downtown Bethesda, MD. Streetery attendees were invited to “Picnic on the Avenue” after picking up food and beverages from any local Bethesda restaurant.
World of Winter
The World of Winter Festival is a two-month long festival that takes advantage of Michigan’s cold climate to provide interesting ways for people to experience and enjoy the season. This Festival aspires to make Grand Rapids a more active winter city, making Grand Rapids an active year-round city by hosting all activities outdoors in public spaces. All programming and activities are FREE, socially distanced for these pandemic times and geared for both families and adults.
Black Lives Matter Mural Project
The Black Lives Matter Mural Project in the summer of 2020 enlivened and supported DowntownDC at a pivotal time for the community. This project beautified public space in the Gallery Place-Chinatown neighborhood with 35 outdoor murals, shifting boarded-up storefronts (due to inactivity because of COVID-19 and compounded by unrest and uncertainty related to social justice protests) into inviting, vibrant and hopeful spaces.
Brighten the Passage
Brighten the Passage is a public space and infrastructure improvement project aimed at consciously rebuilding physical and sociological connections between downtown Milwaukee’s central business district and the Historic Third Ward neighborhoods – connections that have been severed for decades by the elevated freeway. The project enhancements are practical and impactful tactics that included large-scale murals on the freeway support piers and dynamic, programmable color changing LED lighting.
Dining on the Spot
The Dining on the Spot program, which provided expanded outdoor dining options when indoor seating was closed early March and April, was directly responsible for keeping Downtown West Palm Beach restaurants in business. In addition to creating a mechanism to continue serving customers, the DDA also provided funding for equipment rental and a branded signage program for restaurants participating in Dining on the Spot.
Project Hope, Unity and Compassion
Throughout history, downtowns and town squares have served as the foundation of society’s freedom of expression and the center of community discourse. Downtown Tulsa is certainly no different. At an incredibly tense time in our community, and in the midst of planning for unprecedented events, we found an opportunity to showcase Downtown Tulsa’s core values on temporary canvases.
Shadows at Sixth
“Shadows at Sixth: An Elevated Halloween Drive Thru” is unlike any event seen in Little Rock before. Held in a multi-level parking deck in downtown Little Rock, this drive-thru, family-friendly event was created to bring joy and fun safely to Central Arkansans in a time of uncertainty and isolation.
SODO Track
The SODO Track is transforming the portal to Downtown Seattle—a two mile transit corridor lined by industrial building backs—into an imaginative raceway of art in motion for over 50,000 people to experience daily. What was once an industrial zone is now a world-class art destination and a fitting welcome to the international city Seattle has become.
Portland Downtown Tree Cam
In lieu of our traditional, “one night only” tree lighting event, Portland Downtown, Hood® Eggnog, and Portland Public Library launched something all new for 2020: a 24/7 live-streaming “tree cam” overlooking an iconic downtown park called Monument Square. The cam created a virtual window so that visitors locally – and across the globe – could enjoy the illuminated tree & its surroundings anytime, anywhere throughout the holiday season.
al Fresco off Main and Downtown Dash
The City of Mesa and the Downtown Mesa Association (DMA), introduced a great way to “extend” patio dining for all of the restaurants in the downtown Mesa District—no matter the restaurant’s outside capacity. al Fresco off Main is a fenced off area with plenty of outdoor, distanced seating where people can bring food they ordered from any downtown Mesa restaurant or their brown bag meal to enjoy their refreshments in the middle of downtown.
The Care Campaign
The Care Campaign is a collection of 14 murals that popped up in our Downtown Dartmouth business district in fall 2020. We worked with a member business to create a placemaking project that would encourage people to feel embraced and connected, at least in mind and spirit, while circumstances beyond anyone’s control make that physically impossible. We received feedback from people of all walks of life that the Care Campaign murals have brought them feelings of happiness and inspiration.
Delightful Doorways Mural Program
The Delightful Doorways Mural Project (DDMP) is a public art placemaking program in Downtown Berkeley whose mission is to transform dark and unsafe street level fire exits and industrial doorways located throughout the district into unique colorful works of art by local artists.
Advancing Places: Using Street Murals to Activate Pedestrian Space
Whether you are interested in creating new public space using the roadway or activating existing pedestrian areas, street murals are one of the highest impact and lowest cost approaches. Besides beautifying a neighborhood with color, they also celebrate the arts, communicate narratives of change and present a remarkable opportunity for public engagement. Learn more about the what, why, and how from a BID executive, an artist and a tactical urbanism expert.
Advancing Places: Pinnacle Award Spotlight
Winning an IDA Pinnacle Award is the highest level of recognition for urban place management professionals. We’ll walk through two programs pulling communities through the COVID-19 pandemic: the planning of a gift card program benefiting local businesses and a public space activation offering an outdoor office for flexibility in work and wellness. This webinar highlights The Cincy Card Connection and O2: Outdoor Office in Rosslyn, VA.
Advancing Places: Reimagining Downtown Commons
Streets, parking spaces and sidewalks comprise the largest area among types of public space in downtowns across the world. Pre-pandemic, managing parking for delivery bikes and procuring permits for outdoor cafés was challenging. However, reduced traffic presented opportunities to take advantage of these resources in new ways. Join this discussion of management models, programs, and regulatory frameworks that have shifted the use of our public assets to small businesses that need it most.
Advancing Places: Art as a Tool for Healing
The past year and a half has been filled with extraordinary challenges brought on by a global pandemic. Join this session and learn from two 2021 Pinnacle Award Winning projects on how BIDs can participate in social, cultural and political moments by bringing in the arts community. This pandemic has changed the relationship between people and public space, and new partnerships have developed over time.
Advancing Places: Public Private Partnerships for Placemaking and Activations
Activating public space is crucial to bringing people back to the district as we move into recovery mode. Making this happen takes a lot of work developing the right partnerships to make your activations successful. Learn from two seasoned professionals how they approached activations during the pandemic and how they are moving into recovery mode which includes incorporating storefronts to benefit businesses more directly.
Advancing Places: Winter City Design
The winter of 2020 promises to be a long one, especially for the small businesses forced to operate with reduced customer capacity due to COVID-19. There are choices and recommendations we can make to help business and communities outlast the pandemic – by embracing the idea of the winter city. The economic need is urgent and cannot be understated. We can make our streets, parks and plazas great places to be for all four seasons and create space for our businesses and communities to thrive through the winter months.
Advancing Places: Public Space
This practical and tactical session will address the opportunities and challenges downtowns and commercial districts have in repositioning our public spaces in the post-COVID-19 world. The panelists will address flexible design strategies, safe and healthy operations and working with businesses, public agencies and partners to creatively address new uses and demands for our sidewalks, streets and open spaces.
Advancing Places: Graffiti and Murals
Unwelcome graffiti can significantly affect the perceptions of cleanliness and safety in a district. Questions surrounding who is physically responsible and economically liable for removal can cause confusion among urban place leaders, business owners and local government officials. This session will explore how three graffiti removal programs were established and maintained to positively impact their district.
Radical Welcoming: Staffing Public Spaces for All
In the face of increases in economic segregation, social isolation and distrust across the U.S., downtown leaders in Akron and Memphis see public space as a solution. Learn how practitioners in these two cities are pioneering new ways to staff and operate networks of civic assets that are truly welcoming to people of all backgrounds and cultivate civic trust.
How Investments in Arts Vibrancy Drive Economic Vibrancy
How can the arts act as a catalyst for economic development? What are the factors that drive a vibrant arts sector? This session will explore how arts vibrancy evaluations can steer investments in economic development to improve lives and the economy. Join speakers as they discuss the economic contributions of the arts in diverse communities and study cases of the arts driving business development.
Place Leadership Network: A Brave Experiment in Equitable Place Management
In 2019, eight place-management groups in the Boston area —from BIDs to main streets to conservancies— began a year-long journey of leadership development, capacity building and learning from one another. In a region grappling with environmental resilience and social inequity, this cohort of place managers is working together to make and keep public places vibrant, creative and inclusive.
Placemaking & Events Roundtable
Has the pandemic paused your district’s placemaking and public events or have you been able to adjust to the new realities of physical-distancing and face-coverings? This roundtable conversation will focus on sharing new ideas and necessary innovations for pandemic-era placemaking and public events.
Carol Coletta Master Talk
Carol Coletta leads the relaunch of Memphis River Parks Partnership, a nonprofit developing, managing and programming six miles of riverfront and five park districts. Previously, she led the two-year start-up of ArtPlace, a unique public-private collaboration to accelerate creative placemaking in communities across the U.S. and was President & CEO of CEOs for Cities for seven years.
Downtown Activation and Public Art Initiative (DAPA)
The Downtown Activation and Public Art Initiative (DAPA) was created in 2012 to enliven Downtown Pittsburgh through a diverse and engaging use of public art, creative placemaking, and entrepreneurship. The initial goals of DAPA were to: Create thoughtful and innovative programming; Engage a diverse group of stakeholders; Develop event funding strategies; Include opportunities for local businesses to engage.
Writing on the Walls
Writing on the Walls is an annual series of collaborative public art installations and events. At the inaugural event in March 2020, local, national and international artists simultaneously created two new landmarks in downtown Austin, including our city’s largest mural to date. This mural is located on the iconic Congress Avenue, 11 blocks south of the state capitol, and located at the gateway into downtown Austin.
Detroit Aglow
Each winter, the various departments within DDP work in tandem to light up Downtown Detroit – hence Detroit Aglow! The BIZ illuminates Downtown with seasonal lighting that enhances the physical characteristics of the Downtown parks and streets. The BIZ focuses on pedestrian, cyclist and vehicular gateways to make dark winter traveling brighter and safer. The DDP Parks team creates a season of programming centered around the tree lighting ceremony and the popular ice-skating rink.
Shining A Light
In December 2018 Lilly Endowment, Inc. awarded $7.6 million to Downtown Indy, Inc. and partner, Indiana War Memorials Commission, to execute Shining a Light on Indianapolis: Bringing Arts and Culture Full Circle. The initiative was designed to collaboratively infuse arts and culture into Indianapolis through artistic video mapping, lighting and activation on the city’s premier civic plaza, Monument Circle.
The Rail Park: A Railroad and Neighborhood Story Wall
The Rail Park is an adaptive reuse of the Reading Viaduct, once used by the Reading and Pennsylvania Railroads, and a hub for hundreds of rail lines. At the entrance to the park is an 80-foot long “ghost map” wall that provides a dramatic visual reminder of what this industrial neighborhood once was, and the fascinating stories and significant architecture that merited its placement on the National Register of Historic Places.
Roots of Rubber
Brought to life through a partnership between Akron Public Schools National Inventors Hall of Fame School (NIHF) for STEM Learning, Downtown Akron Partnership (DAP), local government, and the Knight Foundation, the project highlighted the importance of activating public space in our community. Roots of Rubber features the creative excellence of Spanish arts collective Boa Mistura, the inspirational words of Akron native Laureate Rita Dove, and the imaginative hands of our city’s future.
Fence Art Activation
The Fence Art activation started in 2019 and is an ongoing activation that thrives to bring beauty and art to the downtown area. The art is installed in areas that are fenced off due to development, construction, safety, etc. The art itself is sourced from a local artist and is built by community members, along with the artist. The message is in the art. Art should be an expression that can be absorbed by anyone within the community.
Celebrating the Mississippi Riverfront
In celebration of their 100-Year Anniversary, the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, a service association comprised of area business and professional leaders, donated a unique sculpture to the City of Baton Rouge. The spherical sculpture, known as Sing the River, is installed on the Mississippi Riverfront and offers a unique landmark for all to enjoy. Like a futuristic globe sitting on the edge of the river, people are drawn to it; to see reflections of themselves and the city that surrounds it.
Charlotte SHOUT!
With more than 175 art, music, food and ideas events offered over 13 days, Charlotte SHOUT! delivered something new and fresh to the city’s residents and visitors. A diverse mix of local artists, musicians, chefs and thought leaders joined renowned international talent to make the festival an unforgettable experience. The event also included unique cultural experiences like a live Indian wedding ceremony, interactive artwork, and community discussion.
Travis Park Holiday Activation
The City of San Antonio partnered with The Rotary Club of San Antonio to bring an outdoor ice-skating rink to Travis Park for the 2019 holiday season to help establish the historic Travis Park as a downtown destination for visitors and locals while further promoting activation in public spaces. The City of San Antonio invited residents and visitors to celebrate the holidays at Travis Park with free, family friendly events.
Civic Center Initiative
The three connected public plazas in front of San Francisco’s City Hall (Civic Center Plaza, Fulton Street Mall and UN Plaza) were blighted, crime-ridden and well known as a place to avoid. Through a significant private donation two new state-of-the art playgrounds and an adjacent café were constructed in Civic Center Plaza. These new amenities were the catalyst for creating surrounding programming that supported the success of the playgrounds and laid the groundwork upgrades to come.
Placemaking Summit 2019 Opening Master Talk Presentations
Campus No. 805 is an award-winning adaptive re-use project that converted a former middle school campus into a mixed-use entertainment experience with multiple local breweries, restaurants, entertainment options and a public green space. Join us as we kick-off the inaugural Place Branding & Placemaking Summit with a multi-stop reception where attendees will get to experience why “school’s out forever” and full-time fun is the new curriculum at Campus No. 805.