Wednesday, October 16, 2013

30 Ideas in 30 Days: #11 The Power of 10

30 Ideas in 30 Days

Continuing in our theme of giving people things to do, we return to walking and a clever introduction that encourages it to occur.

Power of 10 on display in Melbourne, Australia. Credit: Project for Public Spaces.

Idea #11: The Power of 10

We have the Project for Public Spaces to thank for this next idea. PPS is an organization based in New York City that has done pioneering work in the field they helped to name - placemaking. Their projects may be seen all over from Bryant Park in New York, to Campus Martius Park in Detroit, and countless other places all over. When working with the Seattle Art Museum in 2004, senior level officials with PPS were on hand to brainstorm ideas to generate more public activity around the museum that is located in the center of Seattle. Naturally the idea of public art came up. When asked how many sculptures they should place, after some thought, the answer by the advisors from PPS was 10. They further elaborated that there should be at least 10 unique places with 10 things to do, in order to create a truly great public space. PPS has been preaching about the value of "The Power of 10" ever since.

Some activities to consider are places to sit, playgrounds to enjoy, art to touch, music to hear, food to eat, history to experience, and people to meet. Having activities unique to the particular spot that placemakers are seeking to activate will make it interesting enough to get people to come back. Local people who use the space regularly will in turn generate ideas of what uses will work best. Listening to those ideas and undertaking constant improvements will lead to continuous improvement.

Better Block Middlesborough was held from October 25-27, 2013, in Middlesborough, Kentucky. To help with planning for future events like this, please consider making a donation today!

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