Paper presented at the VIII Study Day of INU - Naples
In the last decades, the ones
who care most for public space, looked with curiosity at Placemaking, the
movement founded by Fred Kent in 1975.
Placemakers have their own
saints, like Jane Jacobs, William “Holly” White, Allan Jacobs, (Gehl & Svarre 2013; Giddens 2007). They believe in inclusive
and participative design, but they also mistrust of politicians, architects,
planners, and planning itself.
Placemakers publish a lot of fancy books, with
many photos in which many people drinks many cappuccinos.
But has this movement really
produced the expected outputs, or it is just an enterprise with an excellent
communication staff? Their guidelines and activities could work in developing
countries, or even just in contexts different for the north-American wealthy
communities?
The paper explores experiences
and critiques of the movement in a global perspective.