How to tell that places matter to people

Fred Kent of PPS always uses a particular slide in his presentations showing a couple in the 70s (or older) sitting on a bench in a nice public park, kissing. He then talks about how important it affection is as an indicator of the quality of the public sphere. (I am wrecking how he talks about it...)

I was struck by a series of photos on Portland Ground, featuring a wedding that took place in a street, an intersection that had been reconstructed by City Repair (they are linked in the right sidebar), an organization that works to create "complete streets" for people, not cars. The wedding, and Miles Hochstein's photos of it, illustrate Fred's point.

Miles writes:

Mark Lakeman and Lydia Doleman were married in the center of the street, at the intersection they were instrumental in creating - Share-it Square. Mark's firm is Communitecture and he has been a leader for the City Repair Project and the Village Building Convergence. Lydia Doleman is the founder and sole proprieter of Flying Hammer Natural Building.

Photo from Portland Ground by Miles Hochstein.