Interconnecting People
and Making Places
onebite DESIGN | SOCIAL | URBAN | STRATEGY |
PLACEMAKING TODAY
More than either a physical or digital urban design subject, it is, solely and fundamentally, about the comeback for community.
“TODAY’S PLACEMAKING REPRESENTS A COMEBACK FOR COMMUNITY. THE ITERATIVE ACTIONS AND COLLABORATIONS INHERENT IN THE MAKING OF PLACES NOURISH COMMUNITIES AND EMPOWER PEOPLE.”
–MIT, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
WHY PLACEMAKING MATTERS?
Many see a city as a machine. The sophisticated systems of a city must be designed and executed by the "experts". The rise of placemaking challenges the definition of "experts". Who knows a place better than the people living there? Placemaking is both an essential concept in urbanism and a practical tool to bridge the machine city with humanity.
Placemaking allows all stakeholders, including government, owners, designers and end-users to find a balance in making decisions and to build collective community power that makes a place sustainable.
OUR PLACEMAKING ANALOGY
We love to use bread-baking as a metaphor for the design of public space. Imagine when you are baking your own loaves, yeast is the spirit while not leaving any trace of taste. The same for placemaking. It is an invisible yet powerful ingredient. If using it right, placemaking will gear the community action automatically. With a small quantity of dose, the effect could be surprising enough to create a vibrant and engaging place.
Remember these 6 Steps in Placemaking:
OUR 10 MINDSETS & TOOLS
Practise these 10 mindsets to enjoy placemaking engagement:
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Everyone can participate in the process. Empower every stakeholder. There is no me but WE.
”
HOUSE RULES
Try these 5 House Rules to make your engagement more FUN!
“Placemaking’ is both an overarching idea and a hands-on tool for improving a neighbourhood, city or region. It has the potential to be one of the most transformative ideas of this century”
10 Things You can Start Today
Start observing for the problems in your neighbourhood.
Join or facilitate community workshops.
Fund existing community groups that share your beliefs.
Promote positive outcomes to your neighbourhood.
Work with your community groups or district councils.
Get connected with neighbours.
Prototype your ideas.
Participate in public voting.
Share your ideas with your friends.
Share your ideas with us!
Bring with You
Community-driven
Visionary
Function before form
Adaptable
Inclusive
Focused on creating destinations
Context-specific
Dynamic
Trans-disciplinary
Transformative
Flexible
Collaborative
Sociable
Top-down
Reactionary
Design-driven
A blanket solution or quick fix
Exclusionary
Car-centric
One-size-fits-all
Static
Discipline-driven
One-dimensional
Dependent on regulatory controls
A cost/benefit analysis
Project-focused
Values we deliver
Our team delivers positive impact through design solutions. We believe design is the catalyst for more liveable and loveable cities.
Works we design
Our cross-disciplinary team offers consultancy services across spatial, social and urban innovations.
Resources we share
From tips on placemaking to adopting design thinking in your urban innovations, our team makes our research and methodology available to all city lovers.