Making great public spaces in DC

Surprisingly, for the most part, I consider the Downtown DC Business Improvement District a force for good, even if I think sometimes they overstate the case about the value of certain tax incentives or at what degree is the real truth about the role of the MCI Center in the revitalization of the east end of downtown, or their efforts and the fine line between bringing necessary attention to Downtown versus privatization of the public space and commodification.

Recently, they brought Fred Kent of the Project for Public Spaces in to conduct a placemaking workshop downtown, under the auspices of the BID. One of Councilmember Wells' staff members wrote about her experience, in the entry "Making Great Public Spaces" at the Tommy Wells Blog.

According to the entry, they invited many participants from various DC Government agencies (but not many advocates) to join in the training. Ironically, since about 2003 I have been suggesting to various DC Government employees and offices, including the old Neighborhood Action office, that they needed to go to this workshop, the "How to Turn a Place Around" training. They never did, because DCG doesn't pay for much training on the part of employees.

So I am glad that the BID did this. One of these years I would like to begin doing this workshop annually, in various neighborhoods in the city, to serve as a way for neighborhoods to work on "making their own plans" and neighborhood improvement projects, as well as a training ground for government employees and advocates from around the city, who can then take the lessons back to their own neighborhoods and organizations.

For another example of a PPS workshop in DC, relevant to Capitol Hill, see the blog entry "From Eastern Market Metro Plaza to Capitol Hill Town Square."

And see the article about Fred Kent and PPS, "Pride of Place," from Governing Magazine.