Are You a Placemaker?

Volunteers from First Presbyterian re-roofing
a house in Fort Scott

An old term has taken on life as a new development buzzword: placemaking.

For smaller, un-celebrated places like Fort Scott, learning the skills of placemaking are essential for renewal, beautification, progress, and economic development.

While I'm wary of buzzwords, there were a couple of lines from the placemaking article (linked above) that make it worth a read for anyone who cares about neighborhood revitalization:


"In contrast with the past, more people are choosing a city before choosing a job. Where you live means more than what you do there."

"Cities should be about building strong, successful neighbourhoods where residents care about what happens on their streets and get involved. . . . The ideal is to encourage investment in the 'place' that you live and building an identity around it."