Events: Seeking Solutions to common challenges with Placemakers and Parks Partners at Public realm roundtable in nYC and seattle

July 11, 2024

Director’s Office Labs Fellow Tim Tompkins recently presented early findings from his Sustaining Places initiative at two convenings of practitioners.

• Public Realm Roundtable: Hosted by PlacemakingX, PlacemakingUS, and the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Tompkins presented and discussed the role of place-centered NGOs in transforming neighborhoods, places, and parks. Noting the success of these hyperlocal, community-led groups that work closely with city governments, he summarized what he sees as the challenges they face and a range of possible solutions to make them more empowered, sustainable, and equitable.

• Greater & Greener Seattle: Hosted by City Parks Alliance, Tompkins engaged in similar discussions with parks non-profits and agencies as part of the conference’s Research Lab.

Across both settings, the dialogue reinforced his early conclusion that nonprofit partners often confront significant bureaucratic obstacles and operational constraints. It also underscored the need to pursue innovative financing mechanisms and value capture strategies that can provide more reliable funding and enable expansion into communities with fewer resources. In the months ahead, Tompkins will continue engaging practitioners and researchers to test, deepen, and refine these emerging insights and recommendations.