Last night the Los Altos Town Crier and Los Altos Forward hosted Fred Kent, President and Founder of Project for Public Spaces, at 359 State Street. Over 50 individuals from the local community came to learn from one of the leading experts on placemaking.
Kent explained that placemaking is common sense and that people naturally want to live, work, and play in areas with activities. He suggested that great places are produced not through design, but instead by relying on the community as the collective expert. Here are Fred's "Eleven Prinicples for Creating Great Community Places":
- The Community is the Expert
- Create a Place, Not a Design
- Look for Partners
- You Can See a Lot Just by Observing
- Have a Vision
- Start with the Petunias: Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper
- Triangulate
- They Always Say "It Can't Be Done"
- Form Supports Function
- Money is Not the Issue
- You are Never Finished
For more information on placemaking or Fred Kent, please visit the Project for Public Spaces website.
Photos Courtesy of Andrea Eaton