Northwest Michigan Council of Governments

Placemaking in Northern Michigan

 

Placemaking in Northport
Northport, Michigan is working with Leelanau Township on an initiative called Designing and Achieving Our Potential to improve the economic well-being and quality of life for local residents. One of the priorities of the initiative is to make Northport a place that will attract more year round businesses and families. Watch the video to find out more.

 

Placemaking in Harbor Springs
Harbor Springs, Michigan is using Placemaking to make improvements to the community. Watch the video to find out more.

 

This year's Northern Michigan Placemaking Summits, held in Traverse City and Petoskey, were designed to inspire local implementation. Placemaking is a community-based approach to the planning, design and management of spaces that have local and regional importance. Put simply, it involves the discovery and implementation of practices that make our communities distinctive, economically viable, accessible, and visually pleasing. Currently, many master plans and regional initiatives, like The Grand Vision, are using placemaking as a tool to build community pride and prosperity.

From The Placemaking Summits 2012:

              
         

The 2012 Northern Michigan Placemaking Summits held in Petoskey and Traverse City attracted about 300 local leaders interested in learning more about implementing placemaking in their communities. Watch the video to hear some of the attendees talk about how the Summit helps their placemaking efforts.

    Christopher Leinberger, an internationally known land use strategist, developer and author, was the keynote speaker at the Northern Michigan Placemaking Summits in Petoskey and Traverse City. Leinberger talked about walkable development and what he calls the "experience economy" and how it impacts placemaking.   Dan Gilmartin, the CEO and Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal League, was one of the speakers at the Northern Michigan Placemaking Summits in Petoskey and Traverse City. Gilmartin talked about the importance of creating authentic places and how that helps the regional economy.

New! Get your copy of the Community Placemaking Guidebook

The Community Placemaking Guidebook follows the tenets of New Designs for Growth and The Grand Vision. It is designed to empower local citizens and unique collaborative groups in communities across northwest lower Michigan with the community pride and Placemaking toolkit that offers critical approaches to creating and managing successful public spaces. The level of a community’s local pride plays a significant role in the quality and maintenance of local places, an overall sense of place and identity, and ultimately economic prosperity in the global economy.

Community Placemaking Guidebook   Community Placemaking Guidebook
(smaller file size 2.36 MiB)   (high resolution file size 9.17 MiB)
     


See the video, Placemaking in Northern Michigan:

 

Presentations from the 2012 Placemaking Summit

Arts and Culture Placemaking:
Elizabeth Lane Oliver Center for the Arts, Frankfort, Michigan		   Arts and Culture Placemaking
     
Attracting and Retaining Investment:
Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)		   Attracting Investment
     
Downtown Placemaking:
City of Cadillac		   Downtown Placemaking
     
Form Based Zoning:
Suttons Bay		   Form Based Zoning
     
Incorporating Placemaking in the Master Plan:
Kalkaska		   Main Street Renaissance
     
Place Based Master Planning:
MSU Extension		   Placemaking and the Master Plan
     

Placemaking for Pedestrians:
Michigan Land Use Institute (MLUI)

   Placemaking for Pedestrians
     
Recreation and Placemaking:
Parks, Recreation, and Tourism as Placemaking		   Recreation and Placemaking
     
Attracting and Retaining Investment
Elk Rapids (view Prezi online)		   Placemaking and Investment
     

Winners Announced for New Community Video Projects - 2012

Northport and Harbor Springs were the two communities selected by random drawing to receive production of their own placemaking videos. The videos will highlight activities and growth of placemaking efforts within each of these communities.

 

Video From the 2011 Northern Michigan Placemaking Summit

   
         
Fred Kent is the founder and president of Project for Public Spaces. He is also recognized as an expert on placemaking. Kent was the keynote speaker at a Placemaking Summit hosted by the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments in 2011. Watch the video to hear what Kent thinks communities should know about placemaking.   Bill Rustem is Governor Rick Snyder's Chief Strategist and is recognized as an expert in public policy issues related to land use. Rustem was one of the speakers at the 2011 Placemaking Summit in Traverse City. Watch the video to find out why Rustem thinks placemaking will play an important role in Michigan's future.   Dan Gilmartin is the executive director of the Michigan Municipal League and is recognized as a leader in local government reform. He was one of the speakers at the 2011 Placemaking Summit in Traverse City. Watch the video to find out why Gilmartin thinks it's important for Michigan go have competitive places.